


Bonds and Connections

by Sylene_Bloodrose



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: also rated for some swearing, main character death is for Lewis, may not fallow canon, more tags will be added with chapters, no beta so there might be some mistakes, not very good at writing romance so there won't be much of it, original backstory for ???, will have some depictions of violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-04-07 15:04:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 33,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19087474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylene_Bloodrose/pseuds/Sylene_Bloodrose
Summary: The demon within the emerald cave has waited over a century to get revenge on those who ended his life. After an encounter with there descendent, the monster soon begins the hunt to satisfy its bloodlust. All while Arthur, Vivi, and Mystery search for there missing friend Lewis, who may also being looking for them. Secrets and lies will come to the surface, as the truth of the cave unravels before those who's blood connect them to the past.





	1. The demon

Chapter 1: The demon  
Chapter Text  
The Demon  
  
1873  
  
Thick dark clouds consumed the sky, blocking out the sun entirely. Faint rumbles could be heard in the distance, growing ever loader as the approaching storm drew near. The wind was picking up, bringing with it the scent of rain. A storm was coming. This was an obvious fact to the young man running for his life as he trampled his way blindly through the thick foliage of the woods that grew on the outskirts of his home town. The sound of dogs barking nearby sent chills down the man’s spine. One of the search parties that were currently searching for him was hot on his trail. He couldn’t let them catch him; it would be all over for him. He would certainly hang. Dark green curls stuck to his pale forehead with sweat. Labored breathing filled his ears as well as his increased heartbeat. He still couldn’t believe this was happening. He had been so careful, always covering his tracks, never leaving evidence behind. Well except for perhaps some trophies he keeps locked in the caller. That being items that once belongs to his countless victims.  
  
Besides that, he had always been extra careful. That`s why he had never been caught. But this time things hadn’t gone according to plan, hadn’t gone his way. How the woman had gotten away was still a mystery. The green haired man knew he had locked the latch to the cellar. There should have been no way for her to have gotten out. None of his other victims had. So how? How did that blonde bitch escape? It was truly mind-boggling. He remembers laying the tied up, unconscious woman down onto the thin mattress tucked into a corner. Then locking the shutters to the cellar with a padlock. The only way out had been locked from the outside. There was no logical explanation for her disappearance.  
  
The lock was had still been in place when he had gone down the next morning to check on her. That had been the moment he had discovered she was gone. It was as though she simply vanished into thin air. Had she used magic to escape? No, that was absurd. The young woman he had met the night before didn’t look like a witch. Though the question of how she made her great escape was still unknown. But there was one thing he knew for sure, and that was that he was screwed. He didn’t even have time to pack anything up when he heard galloping near his home. The towns folk where coming for him, he knew it. Who knew how long that woman would have of had to make it back to town for help. He lived outside of town, at the edge of the forest. The town wasn’t to fare away, but wasn’t exactly close by either. She must have gone straight for the sheriff the first chance she got. He had to get out of there. The moment they searched his home, the cellar, to be more precise, they would discover the evidence needed to connect to the string of resent disappearances. It would seem that he hadn’t been as subtle as he had thought he’d been. He had believed that the individuals he had made disappear wouldn’t be missed, it would seem he had been wrong, people had noticed. Though it wasn’t enough to deterrent him away from his killing spree. At that point nothing could have. The trophies he had acquired would be used against him. He knew he should have gotten rid of them, but he hadn`t been able to part with them. And now that was going to bite him in the ass. So he kept running, even when his lungs get like they were on fire, and his legs started becoming sore. He had to keep going. There was no way the story of Charles DeRail would end like this. He was an average man in his early thirties, of average height and weight.  
  
The only unusual thing about him would be his mass of curly dark green hair, which was also the same color as his hair. Charles was currently wearing a simple long sleeved green button up with a pair of brown overalls and shoes. His simple appearance had allowed him to go unnoticed, working to his advantage as he manipulated victim after victim. Drugging and kidnapping them in the night without anyone being the wiser. Now it was all ruined because of her. A wave of white hot anger surged through him. If Charles managed to escape he would make sure to go back for her one day and bury her 6 feet under with like the rest.  
  
Thinking back, going after the cute thing had been a mistake. If he remembered correctly, the blonde`s name was Agatha Rose, daughter of a wealthy family and fiancée to the owner of town`s tavern. It was actually just outside that very tavern that Charles had first seen the beautiful Agatha. It was late, the only light coming from the tavern. She must have been waiting for her fiancé, but it’s not like he had actually asked. He had been on the hunt for new prey; it had been a few months sense his last play thing. It had only taken few moments. He had created a sound just loud enough for her to hear, but not to load to draw unwanted attention from the men inside. Once she had taken a few steps into the shadows to see what it was, he covered her mouth with a drugged cloth to render her unconscious. After that he simply snuck her into the back of his wagon then carefully made his way back to his home. It was once he had arrived at his home and shined a bright lantern onto her sleeping form that the man got a better look at his newest victim. She was small and slender young woman like most of the girls in town.

 Though was made her stand out was her attire of bright orange and yellow colors. She wore a lovely orange dress with a yellow shawl draped over her small shoulders. An orange bonnet sat on top her head of long wavy strawberry blonde hair. To complete her look was a pair of yellow gloves that fit her tiny hands perfectly. Everything about her was beautiful, from her small round face, to her big orange eyes, and her adorable heart shaped eyebrows. Charles just couldn’t help himself, he wanted her. If the green haired man was to be honest, he hadn’t decided whether he was going to kill her quickly like he had most of the others, or keep her locked up to play with for while longer. Both ideas sounded appealing, and she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever met. The second option was sounding more appealing now that he thought about it. He had always had a weakness for beautiful things, be it lovely ladies or charming young men.  
  
It didn’t matter to him as long as he had a pretty victim to play with. The trees began to thin out as Charles reached the edge of the forest, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was then that he realized that he couldn’t hear his pursuers anymore. They must have lost his trail, for now anyway. Without anymore foliage to take cover beneath, the young man looked around frantically for someplace to hide out until things died down. Not far away, an entrance to a large cave came into view. Perfect. He ran for it, heading for the mouth of the skull shaped cave. Just then a gun shot rang out. A bullet ricocheted off of the rocky wall near Charles head.

Nearly jumping a foot into the air, he quickly turned to see who had fired. Steeping out from the trees was a young man around the same age as Charles, perhaps a few years younger. Charles recognized him right away as that woman’s fiancé. Now standing before him was a tall, broad shouldered man with blonde hair and golden eyes. Eyes that now glared at him with the fires of hell. A shot gun was pointed in Charles direction. More accurately, his face. It would seem that Kingsmen was out for blood. Charles snarled, “What are you going to do George, shoot an unarmed man?” The broader man lifted a thick eyebrow as he cocked his gun.   
  
“You? Unarmed? Like I’m going to believe that!” George spat back. “I’ll make sure you never touch my Agatha ever again you sick bastard!” pang! Charles moved out of the way just in time to avoid a bullet between the eyes. It would seem that Kingsmen was hell-bent on being his judge and executioner. He needed to get away from him. There was only one option open to him, the cave he had already been planning to hide in. It only took a second for the green haired man to find himself tearing his way into the mouth of the eerie cave, deeper into its darkened pathway. Despite there being no natural forms of light to be found, a strange soft white glow covered the inside of the cave’s walls. Unfortunately, Charles didn’t have time to admire the strange sight, not with a man out for blood at his heels. It didn’t take long for him to reach a fork in the path, two tunnels going opposite directions. Without thinking, Charles blindly ran for the left. He couldn’t afford to stop to think about which path he should take, he had to keep moving.  
  
This would end up being a fatal mistake. For it didn’t take long for him to reach a cliff, he had hit a dead end. Looking down, Charles was met with a long drop to what appeared to be stalagmites below. It was almost too dark to tell, but he saw the sharp spikes waiting down below, as if calling for him. At that moment a thought flashed threw his mind, this would have been a great place to dispose of bodies. If only I had found it sooner. Turning around, Charles once again found himself facing down the barrel of a gun. He was cornered; there was no where left to run. Only death waited for him, both before and behind him. Charles reflexively took a step back as George came closer, his feet brushing the cliff’s edge. This was the end. If this was going to be his last stand, he would go out starring death in the face. He hadn’t been lying before when he said he was unarmed. He hadn’t had time to grab for his gun when he had to flee mob coming for him. That no longer mattered. George Kingsmen cried out “Burn in hell,” then pulled the trigger.

That plus the sound the shot’s load bang would be the last thing Charles DeRail would ever hear. An unimaginable pain spread across his chest, blood flew from the wound as shot sent him flying backwards. He was suddenly airborne, falling as his consciousness faded. Just as death took him, another pain tore through his body. It was one of the stalagmites that he landed on. It had pierced through Charles back, protruding from his chest like a thorn. His mind didn’t have time to fully process the new pain before it slipped away. His world became darkness, everything fading away, everything but the pain. Lying pierced on the pointed rock, the life of Charles DeRail ended in suffering. His dying wish was to make those two lovers pay, at any cost.  
  
  
  
Green eyes slowly opened. Confused and unfocused eyes blinked groggily as Charles looked around to see where he had woken up. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying propped up against what felt like rock, a green mist circling around his body. He was at the bottom of a large cave, how he got there though, escaped him. Everything blurred together, his thoughts scrambled. How did he get here? The last thing Charles remembered was running for his life through the woods. He had been running from the town’s folk who had been hunting him down after the orange clad woman escaped from his cellar. The mist around him darkened along with his thoughts. That Bitch, it was all her fault! If it wasn’t for her, everything would have been fine. Stumbling to his feet, Charles looked up at the stalagmite he had been resting against. At the top he could make out a dark stain. What was that? Turning his head, Charles saw a cliff high above, a familiar cliff at that. His mind swirled with anxiety as he tried to piece together what had happened to him. He had been running, then reached the edge of the woods. He then saw a cave that looked to be a great hiding place, and then was confronted by Kingsmen…that’s right, it was George Kingsmen. That bastard chased him into the cave and cornered him on that cliff. Charles felt himself be consumed with rage as he remembered.  
  
He’d been shot by down, his body falling backwards into the jagged rock with the stained tip. That was his blood. That stupid tavern owner had killed him! The green mist that had been circling around him sense be woke up began to spiral with his emotions. The cloud of toxic looking mist expanded outward, tainting the soft white glow of the cavern’s walls. Everywhere the mist touched, white light darkened to green. It was as if his very hatred was consuming the aria around him. Pure hatred for the ones who had caused his demise. He would make them pay, even in death. Charles was so wrapped up in his rage that he almost didn’t notice that he was floating a few inches off of the ground. Catching on to his sudden weightlessness, Charles looked down, and saw that his feet weren’t touching the ground. He was hovering in the air, another sign of his death.

A disturbing grin slipped onto his face; if he was a spirit now then no one could stop him from getting revenge. With that revelation in mind, Charles floated up the cliff he had been shot off of. He didn’t know how much time had passed between then and now, but it couldn’t have been too long, right? The absence of his body proved that he hadn’t been left to rot like he would have thought. The green mist that continuously engulfed him, spread trough out the cave like a virus, infecting everything it touched with an emerald hue. Charles paid it no mind as he made his way to the exit. He was almost there, he could taste it. But just as he reached the mouth of the cave, Charles found himself flying face first into an invisible wall. His back collided with the ground as he was flung backward. What the hell was that?  
  
Floating back into the air, Charles floated back over to where he had been pushed back. Extending out an arm, he felt a hard surface at the cave’s entrance. Yet there was nothing there. Dread seeped into his gut as he felt around the invisible barrier keeping him inside. No, no, no, this couldn’t be happening, he couldn’t be trapped here. He had to get out of this cave. How else was he going to kill that bitch and her fiancé? Unfortunately no matter where he felt, his ghostly hands only found resistance. He remained there who knows how long trying to force his way out. But no matter what he did, he couldn’t. How could this have happened? Was he trapped because he died here? Charles refused to accept that. He flew away from the cave’s entrance, heading deeper to look for another way out.  
  
Turning back, Charles noticed that the soft white glow the cave walls had produced before was now entirely green. In fact, he could also see a trial of his green mist flowing from where he had come from. Once more reaching the fork, he decided to go through the other tunnel. It led to the cavern he had woken up in. He had gone full circle. Days turned into weeks, which stretched to years as time lost all meaning. A fading figure sat on the cliff looking down onto the jagged rocks that took his life. Thick dense green fog tangled around his transparent form. How long has he been trapped here? There was no way of knowing. The ghost hadn’t seen another soul sense the day he had woken up after dying. Left alone to wallow in his rage and hatred for those he blamed for his death. After all this time, Charles felt himself slip away. He would never get his revenge; never get to enjoy the feeling of making George and Agatha suffer. He might as well disappear.  
  
Just as that thought crossed his mind, he felt something approach. Curious, the green ghost headed to where he felt the presence. Reaching the mouth of the cave, he saw a young man in his teens standing just a few feet within. He had a head of mousey brown curls, brown doe eyes and a small tiny build. He wore a brown wool sweater, over dark pants. The style seemed odd to him, though who knows how fashion might have changed sense he became trapped here. The sight of the nervous young boy sent a thrill through Charles. The boy looked back as if looking at someone then began slowly walking forward. Glowing green irises fallowed the boy as he walked deeper into his cave. This was his chance. If he couldn’t leave on his own, perhaps he would be able to with this boy’s help.

Spirits should be able to possess the living if Charles remembered correctly. He had never done this before, though it’s not like he an opportunity to try. Once the brown haired teen had ventured far enough inside, Charles lunged. The boy never saw it coming, didn’t even have a change to cry out in surprise when the spirit launched itself into his body. It had been so easy, coming as naturally as he slipped into the other’s body. It only took a split second and he was in complete control. For the first few minutes, Charles was completely disoriented. Sensations he hadn’t felt in so long overwhelmed him. The chill of the cave hair on exposed skin, the feel of the boy’s clothing, even the feeling of air entering his lungs as he took a deep breath. It was addicting, the feeling of been alive. Damn, it felt good.  
  
“You ok in there Marco?”  
  
A feminine voice called out from outside the cave. “You’re not scared, are you?” A male voice yelled in response to the first. This one sounded mocking compared to the concern of the feminine sounding voice. So there were at least two others waiting outside for this Marco. Well that explains what he had been looking back at before. The words had snapped Charles out of his daze of hyperawareness. He had to say something to the others outside, Charles couldn’t have them becoming suspicious before he got a change to get his bearing. “Yea, I’m just fine,” Charles yelled back in the boy’s voice. He then brought his now small hands up to his face. If he remembered correctly, his original hands had been slightly tanner then this boys. It was a small comparison, but it was enough for Charles to feel relieved that he still remembered what he had looked like. He hadn’t seen his own reflection sense he died. From what the two outside had said, Charles could guess that this boy had been dared to come inside. He was kid once to, after all. He knew what it was like to be dared by the other boys.

 Well, he might as well walk around to get used to moving in a living body again. Can’t have them wandering why he just walked out after only being inside for just a few minutes. Charles had only taken a single step forward when he heard a soft whimper from the back of his mind. It was the boy’s soul struggling for control. It was like a gnat he couldn’t swat away, aggravating but tolerable. He paid the boy no mind as he casual strolled down the familiar cavern. He took the right tunnel and walked down to where the stalagmites rose from. Charles had roamed blindly through here countless times as a disembodied spirit; this was the first time seeing it through living eyes. The view was exactly the same, but the way he experienced it was completely different. Though he couldn’t explain how even if he tried. Once he felt that enough time had been wasted, the possessing spirit headed back to the mouth of the cave. The closer he got to the entrance, the more nervous Charles became.  
  
Here was the moment of truth; would he finally be free of this accursed prison? The outside was just before him, he could see the trees of the nearby woods, the blue of the sky, and standing not too far away were the two who he had heard before. He didn’t pay them much mind as he stepped forward, closer to freedom. Just as he stepped through, he slammed into a very familiar force, forcing him out of the boy’s body. Charles couldn’t do anything but watch helplessly as his meat suit collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. The girl gasped in fear and ran over to the smaller boy, the larger teen fallowing close behind. The blonde girl shook the brown haired boy on the ground. He groaned, but didn’t stir. The larger boy picked him up, looked at the girl next to him then nodded his head. Rage flooded the spirit.  
  
WHY?!  
  
Why couldn’t he leave? Was having a body not good enough? Was something intentionally keeping him here? Charles was so angry, he had been so close! Why was this happening to him? Glowing green irises watched the three depart, unable to do anything as they left him once again alone within the silent fog filled cave. More time past. Years flew by as Charles grip on his humanity, if he had any to begin with, slipped away. All that was left was anger, rage, and hatred. Charles didn’t even feel like himself anymore. Something had changed sense he first woke up trapped. His ghostly form had faded away until all that was left of him was the green mist. He had become the very fog that shrouded his cave in its eerie emerald glow. That boy, whose name he never bothered to remember, wouldn’t be the last to venture into the demon’s domain. Each time he tried to use a living body to escape, Charles was met with the same fate. He couldn’t leave his prison, no matter what he tried, so he eventually gave up. So why not have fun with his trespassers. Each time someone entered he would kill them like he had in life and would hide their bodies in a hidden cavern he had found deeper within the cave. It was fun, he could play with his victims all he wanted, and nobody could stop him. It would seem that his after life wasn’t so bad after all.  
  
  
  
This would all change, when one day he heard the sound of one of those strange contraptions coming to a stop outside. He had seen the bizarre carriage like objects that moved on their own along the paved road that had been placed near the demon’s cave. Looking out from within, green eyes saw an obnoxious orange thing stop just outside. His anticipation spiked, oh goody, more prey to toy with. It’s been a while sense he last had visitors. The first think he noticed was a girl in all blue jump into view from the other side of the bright orange contraption, her eyes filled with wonder as she gazed at the mouth of his emerald cave. A large man in purple stepped out next fallowed by a small dog, though it was too far away to get a good look at it. The girl in blue walked to the back of the modern carriage, he wasn`t too sure about what they were called.

He has heard people refer to them as cars, or trucks, and even vans. He wasn’t sure which name was correct, or if they were just different names for the same thing. The demon watched the girl open up a door that led to the back, and then leaned the upper half of her body inside. She stood there for a few minutes, her mouth moving as she most likely spoke to a third person within. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but she was most likely trying to coerce whoever it was to come out. The demon once known as Charles laughed at this. Over the countless years he had remained trapped, he had grown to find the behavior of the living to be, amusing. An orange figure finally stepped out, closing the door behind him. Once again he had guessed right, there was a third human. Excluding the dog, that makes three new victims for him to play with.  
  
A trio of lives just waiting for him to snuff out. Focusing on the young man in orange, the demon couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà. He seemed, familiar some out. He couldn’t tell from where he was, but there was just something about the third one’s appearance that pulled at an old memory. The demon racked his brain, but the answer wouldn’t come to him. Oh well, he’ll get a better look once they’ve entered. The mist demon retreated to the fork where the two tunnels branched off. He would wait for them here to see what they did. Green eyes gleamed with excitement. Would they head down or up? Or better yet, would they split up and go both directions. He loved the sound of that; it was always easier to catch these silly humans off guard when they split up like a bunch of fools.  
  
He didn’t have to wait long for his prey to come to him. Two young men, a lady, and a little doggie. The girl and the large man in purple both help lit torches, light up the green fog that had continuously poured from him until he had become one with it. The man in orange hid behind the larger one, his eyes full of fear as he clung to him for dear life. Now that they were closer, the demon deiced to get a better look at them. The girl was cute thing in all blue with a skirt that would have been scandalous back when he was alive. The big guy was nicely dressed with a vest and ascot. And finally, third one who had seemed familiar from a distance, to familiar for his liking.

His hair was strawberry blonde, not quite blonde, but no red either. He had on some kind of orange vest and bright yellow pants. There was something about his appearance that just nagged at him, but what was it? It had been so long sense he had been alive, so long sense he had last seen someone where just bright clothing. Wait a minute, strawberry blonde hair, orange and yellow clothing, heart shaped eyebrows…oh…OH! Suddenly a faded image of a young woman in those exact colors flashed into the demon’s mind. He looked like her, like that bitch that got away. Who had sicked her gun toting fiancé on him, as well as the rest of the down. A rage he hadn’t felt in decades erupted from deep within him. He hadn’t felt this kind of anger sense the day he died. How dare that boy remind him of that blasted woman! Oh he was going to make him suffer the most, play with him until he brakes.  
  
Like he had hoped, the group slit up. The two men headed for the left tunnel that the demon already knew would take them up to the cliff where he had died. The girl went down the right one, the small dog at her heels. Though if the demon had been able to take his eyes off of the orange clad man for even a second, he might have noticed the suspicious look on the dog’s face as it changed direction at the last minute to fallow the other two.  
  
Once the two reached the cliff, the larger man leaned over the edge in a dangerous manner to get a better view. It would be so easy to push him over; the thought gave the demon chills. He knows what it feels like to end up impaled on those spikes. Then the Agatha look-a-like dipped his arm into a denser cloud of the demon’s fog. This was his chance, while the big guy’s bag was turned. The demon lunged for the blonde, he could already feel himself slipping inside, taking him over from the inside out. But just as he slipped into the man’s left arm, he was hit with resistance. He had never felt anything like this before. He had always been able to take over instantaneously, but not this time.

There was something trying to block him. It slowed the demon down, but wasn’t strong enough to stop him altogether. He slowly slid up the man’s arm, completely unnoticed. He had to be careful, he couldn’t risk the orange man to notice and alert the other before he could completely possess him. Unfortunately, like always, luck wasn’t on his side. The large man with the puffy purple hair started to turn around just as he reached the other boy’s head, alerting him to the demon’s presence. No, this can’t be happening. He can’t let him interrupt him, he wasn’t ready! Why was this boy so hard to take over, it’s not fare. But he had taken over enough to do what he has to. The demon was in control of his entire left arm and the left half of his face. Just as he began to lift the arm he was controlling, the orange wearing man screamed within his head at him.  
  
NO! DON’T, PLEASE!  
  
The demon ignored the human to best he could, which was surprisingly more difficult than he was used to. It was too late anyway. Just as the other had turned partially around, the demon darted forward with his outstretched arm. It only took a single hard push, and the other was sent flying backwards into a free fall. The demon had been right, it was easy. But that control shattered instantly afterward, as the man who he was partially possessing wailed loudly. The other arm shot up and grabbed onto the one he controlled, holding it in place. He fought back against the demon’s control harder than the entity had thought the small man was capable of.

 Damn it, I can’t keep this up, the demon thought as he pushed back as hard as he could. The resistance he felt before became stronger as he tried to spread further into the young man’s body. It was because of this struggle that the demon failed to hear the man make contact with the stalagmite, as well as the woman’s scream from below. In fact he was so engrossed in the internal conflict with his host that he almost didn’t hear the deep growl from behind him. The two stopped there struggling as the hair on the back of their next rose. Both the demon and the orange colored man looked back as one, just in time to see a large creature come down onto them.

 A scream of terror tore its way out of their throat, as they were slammed down into the stone floor of the cave. The demon felt hot breath on their face as the creature which, now that he thinks about it, resembles the mutt he had dismissed before. But that wasn’t possible, right? Six tails waved behind the creature as it barred its sharp teeth at them, glaring holes into their skull. For the first time sense his death, the demon felt threatened. Even the boy cowered in fear at the sight of the large wolf like creature before them.  
  
Without thinking the demon threw the only arm he had control over in front of them in a pathetic attempt to push of the monster pinning the two of them down. This would be a horrible mistake. For the moment he did, the creature lunged at that arm, closing its large jaws around the upper bicep just below the shoulder with bone crunching force. An unimaginable scream of pure agony was ripped from them. There two voices mingling together into a single screech. As the creature began to pull at the limp in its grip, the demon felt himself being ripped out of the boy’s body. The demon refused to go out like this. He wouldn’t go down with ought a fight. And it would seem that the boy he controlled felt the same, as fear consumed his mind to the point that he forgot about the demon. They were still screaming as the monster with golden glasses on its snout continued to shake its head back and forth, trying its best to rip his arm clean off. The demon’s grip was failing; he was going to be ripped out along with the boy’s left arm. In one finale desperate attempt, the demon grabbed onto the other’s soul with a death grip.

 Trying to hold on as he was slowly ripped out. He dug his grip tighter and tighter in the orange soul, refusing to torn out that easily. The man in orange continued to scream in pain as his arm was mauled by the beast above. Soon enough a ripping sound filled the air, as well within the shared consciousness of demon and human host. With one final tug, the boy’s arm was torn from his body, as well as the demon that had tried to take him over. But flesh wasn’t the only think that ripped. It would seem that the soul the demon had tightly gripped on to had also been torn. Body and soul had both been ripped apart by the savage creature’s attack.  
  
The demon felt disoriented as he felt himself trapped within a disembodied limb dangling from the monster’s jaws. He flailed within its vise grip, as he tried to flee the arm, only to hit a wall when he did. It was like the one keeping him inside the cave. This can’t be happening, was he going to be trapped within this limb as well as this cursed cave? The demon didn’t have time to think about it as inhumane screams continued from the man he had just tried to possess. Blood pulled around his shoulder where his arm had once been attached to the rest of him. The sight was satisfying for the demon to witness. Serves him right for fighting against him. That was the last thing the demon thought before the monster flung him through the air, over the cliff, and down to the cavern below. As he landed onto the hard ground, the demon's last bit of strength left him. He consciousness faded, his word slipped into fog and mist.  
  
  
  
Some time later the demon would wake up within a bloody severed arm at the bass of the stalagmites. He would once again try to exit the body, only to be met with failure. He was truly trapped in the orange man’s arm. Soon he would notice a small glowing orange fragment floating inside of himself. And after reaching out towards it with his mind, he would recognize it as a piece of that man’s soul. A piece he had torn away while clinging to it so hard. The soul fragment was letting out a strange energy that just seemed to call out to the demon. Pulling the fragment closer, he absorbed the aura that bleed out. It restored his strength a little. The feeling of the soul fragment near him was intoxicating. And as he drew more energy and felt it revive him, the demon would soon come to realize he had been gifted a golden opportunity, a second change to achieve his long forgotten wish.


	2. Loss and Grief

 

Blue eyes blinked rapidly, as Vivi looked up with confusion. A sense of disorientation washed over her as Vivi suddenly found herself sitting on her knees at the base of the large stalagmites. Her whole body seemed to tremble, though she didn’t know why. The blue haired girl’s mind was a jumble as she tried to piece together what she had just been doing. Turning her head to get a better sense of her surrounding, Vivi Yukino saw that she was currently in a large cavern filled with thick green fog and stalagmites. That’s right, cave! She was in DeRail Cave, a cave with a skull shaped entrance that sat not far from her home town of Willow Creek. From what Vivi remembered, the cave was named after a serial killer who had been killed within back in the 1800s. Supposedly, the cave had begun to glow green not long after the man’s death, and had stayed that way sense, to this day. That had been what had originally caught the bluenett’s attention in the first place. As well as the series of mysterious disappearances that has been accruing in the area for as long as people can remember. There was a rumor that anyone who ventures into the cave are never seen again. Vivi had wanted to investigate it with Arthur.

  
That’s way she was here. She had come to the cave with Arthur as well as her loyal canine, Mystery. It had genuine hunted vibes all over it. It would be there first big hit. Solving the mystery of Willow Creek’s infamous emerald cave. The legends and lore surrounding the place went back over a century, as well as the reports of missing people. This time Vivi had hoped they would have a real haunting. She was tiered of men in masks, she wanted a real ghost for once damn it! And so she dragged Arthur, one of her best friends, and well known scaredy-cat of all things paranormal, to a cave supposedly haunted by the spirit of a serial killer. What could possibly go wrong?

  
And so it was just her, Arthur, and Mystery in the spooky green cave that everyone avoided like the plague, for obvious reasons of course. So why didn’t that feel right? Some part of her whispered that there should be one more name included in that list of people, though it was quickly pushed away before she could give it any thought. It was just the three of them. Vivi remembered splitting up with Arthur at the fork in the tunnel. Both she and Mystery had gone one way and Arthur the other. The tunnel she had chosen had slopped downward, heading deeper into the cave before opening up to a large cavern filled with thick green fog. In fact, that was the last think Vivi remembered before suddenly finding herself kneeling on the ground. There seemed to be a gap in her memory. One minute she was looking around at the amazing scene before her, and the next she was on the ground looking up at the jagged rocks, the fog circling there base.

  
Speaking of the fog, it made it hard to see what was around her. So when she noticed something above her, she had to strain her eyes in an attempt to see it better. Unfortunately no matter how hard she squinted her eyes; the purple blur above on one of the jagged rocks wouldn’t come into focus. Apart of Vivi wanted to blame the mist for that, as it clung low to the ground for blocking he vision. But the blur was above the mist, there was no reason for her to not be able to focus on the shape above her.

  
Unable to figure out how she found herself kneeling, Vivi slowly got to her feet. There was no point in just sitting there; she still needed to investigate to see what might be causing the disappearances. There was also that strange blur she couldn’t seem to focus her eyes on. Looking around again, she then noticed that Mystery wasn’t with her. He was nowhere to be seen. Hadn’t he followed her down? Vivi could have sworn that he had, and yet he wasn’t there. The bluenett’s heart filled with concern for her four legged friend. The last thing she needed was to lose her dog in a dark cave. But just as she cupped her hands around her mouth to call out for Mystery, a deep growl echoed through the air, bouncing off of the cavern walls around her. It sounded like it had come from above. Looking in the direction that she believed the sound to have come from, Vivi noticed an outcropping of rock jetting out over the cavern from high up. A thought crossed her mind, ‘Anyone who fell from there would fall onto those stalagmites.’ The thought sent as shiver down her spine, that would be one horrible way to go out.

  
Snapping herself out of it, Vivi tried to figure out what could have made that growling noise. Was there a bear in the cave with them? It didn’t sound like a bear, though she couldn’t curtain. It hadn’t sounded like anything she had heard before. It was then that her worry for Mystery turned to fear for Arthur. What if he ends up mauled by a wild animal because she dragged him here and then left him all alone. His uncle would be pissed. What if the path Arthur had taken led up to the ledge, where the growl seemed to have…come…from…oh God. He could be up there right now with a wild animal. She needed to get Arthur’s attention, so once again she cupped her hands to call out. And just like before never got a chance to get a word out. For at that exact moment, an ear splitting scream rang out. A scream that would haunt her dreams for many years to come. Vivi’s blood turned to ice, that was Arthur screaming bloody murder.

  
This wasn’t his usual screeching in terror, this was different. That was the sound of someone being viciously attacked. Vivi’s mind instantly put the pieces together, Arthur was being attacked by whatever animal that had growled. Arthur was in danger, he needed her! Vivi had to save him! Without another thought Vivi charged back the way she came as fast her legs could take her. Her mind was in a loop, the only thing she could think was, I need to hurry! I have to save Arthur!

  
It didn’t take long for her to reach the fork where she had split up with her best friend. Arthur had stopped screaming, leaving the cave in a thick silence that filled Vivi’s ears. Stopping before the left tunnel, Vivi cried out, “Arthur! I’m coming for you, just hold on!” Her words were then followed by a dragging sound. What the hell was that? Vivi took a step forward, only to stop when Mystery appeared from the dark tunnel. Her heart stopped. Mystery’s muzzle was covered in blood, his body littered with small blood splatters. But that wasn’t that froze her in place. Little Mystery had Arthur’s thick orange vest in his mouth, dragging him through the tunnel as best as his small body would let him. A trail of smeared blood could be seen coming from where they had come. The blood was dark, almost black. This wasn’t a small cut. Rushing to his side, Vivi ended up back on her knees as she pulled Arthur closer to her. It was then that she finally saw what was wrong. Her heart sank into her stomach. She had to cover her mouth with her hands to hold back a scream. His left arm was completely gone. There was a gaping open wound at his shoulder where his arm should be.

  
“Oh my God”

  
Vivi muttered through her fingers, tears already trailing down her cheeks. There was so much blood, it pooled around him, splattered on his face and drenching his side. Vivi had already pulled off her favorite blue scarf before she had time to think about it. She needed to compress the wound, stop the bleeding as best as she could. If not Arthur would die right in front of her. Shaking her head to dislodge that morbid thought, Vivi carefully and precisely wrapped the fabric tightly around his shoulder and neck. Compressing the wound as hard as she could manage. “Please hang on, don’t die Arthur!” Vivi’ voice was choked with sobs, her vision blurry with tears. His breathing was shallow, getting weaker by the minute. She needed to call 911 to get Arthur an ambulance right now. Vivi went for her phone, but stopped. What was she thinking, there was no way she would have signal in here. She had to get Arthur outside if she wanted to call for help. Hooking her arms under the blonde’s shoulders wasn’t an option. He was missing an arm after all. So instead, she wrapped her arms around his chest and began to drag him back towards the entrance. Mystery grabbed a mouthful of orange vest and helped Vivi pull Arthur. “You better hold on, I’m not letting you give up.”

  
It took them longer then Vivi would have liked to drag her bleeding friend outside the cave. It was dark, the only light coming from the stars and moon shinning down. She gently laid Arthur down onto the soft grass then fished out her blue cased cell phone. Mystery laid down next to him, whining as he pressed his cold wet nose into the fabric of his blood splattered white shirt. Vivi quickly dialed 911, put the phone on speaker and sat in down on the grass next to her. As the phone rang one, then twice, Vivi returned her hands to the wound to apply more pressure.

  
“This is 911, what’s your emergency?”

  
The calm voice coming from the speaker was feminine. The bluenett looked down at the bright screen. “My name is Vivi Yukino. I’m at the DeRail Cave about a mile south outside of Willow Creek, and I need an ambulance for my friend Arthur Kingsmen.” The calm voice spoke up from the phone, asking what was wrong with Arthur. With a shaky voice, Vivi explained that his arm was gone and that he was bleeding out. She wasn’t able to explain why it was gone sense she didn’t know why herself, though she suspected that an animal had to have been responsible. There was no other explanation that would make any sense. Plus there had been that growl she had heard. Vivi even told the lady about the bright orange van parked outside the cave. “Ma’am, just keep applying pressure, an ambulance should be there shortly.” Fresh tears flowed down Vivi’s cheeks, “Thank you.” The 911 operator stayed on the line as Vivi sat by Arthur’s side helplessly. She had never felt so useless before in her life. There was nothing she could do but wait and hope help arrived in time. Just thinking about her enthusiasm from before put a bad taste in her mouth. How could she have been so stupid! She had dragged her best friend into a dangerous cave, and now look! Arthur was dying of blood loss right in front of her.

  
Vivi heard the sound of sirens just before she saw the flashing lights come into view. An ambulance could be seen approaching, its screeching sirens growing louder as the medical emergency vehicle drew near. From past experiences with having to call 911, she knew that a fire truck always fallowed behind an ambulance when one had to request for one. This time was no different as a fire truck and a patrol car pulled up to the cave not far from the newly arrived ambulance. As the paramedics approached, Vivi got out of there way as they took control of the situation. The bluenett watched in a daze as they got to work trying to stabilize Arthur, trying her best to tell them why they where there and how her friend could have been so gravely injured. At one point she even spoke to the officer, who patently waited for her to get her thoughts together.

  
Vivi would never remember exactly what she had said; only remembering how she had been scolded for going into such a well known dangerous place in the middle of the night. Vivi could only agree, her heart in pieces. After Arthur had been carefully laid onto the gurney and placed inside of the ambulance, fished out her key to the van. Arthur had a spare key made for her when they first formed the Mystery Skulls in case she ever needed to drive if there was an emergency. This defiantly counted as one. Despite what some people may say, Vivi was a good driver. She had to be for Arthur to trust her with his precious van. That van was like his baby. Though she didn’t blame him there, she also cared for her little blue car back home.

  
After unlocking the driver’s door, Vivi held it open for Mystery to jump inside then fallowed herself. Before, one of the paramedics asked if she would like to ride in the back of the ambulance with Arthur. She had turned them down for obvious reasons, the first being that there was no way Mystery would be able to ride in there with them, and there was no way she was going to split up with him when she needed her furry buddy the most. The second reason being that she couldn’t just leave Arthur’s brightly colored van out here in the middle of nowhere. He’d blow a gasket if she did that. She would just fallow them with the Mystery Skulls van.

  
Taking a deep breath, Vivi buckled up and started the ignition. She then flipped on the headlights and fallowed the ambulance back to town to the hospital. It was a quiet ride, Vivi not being in the mood for music had turned the radio off. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, her eyes were sore from crying, and her cheeks were still stained with drying tears. No matter now heard she tried, Vivi’s thoughts kept looping back to how she found Arthur bleeding out in the damn cave. His arm completely gone and poor little Mystery straining his tiny body in a brave attempt to get Arthur to safety. She already felt mentally and emotionally drained and she hadn’t even made it to the hospital yet. At least there wasn’t any traffic this time of night, so it didn’t take long for them to arrive at the Willow Creek General Hospital. It was a large three story building that sat at the center of town. The emergency room was at the back of the hospital, right next to Heart and Vascular. Pulling into the parking lot, Vivi found a parking spot that wasn’t too far from the entrance. At least she didn’t have to park a mile from the door like the last time she was here with her grandma.

  
Vivi removed the key from the ignition, a heavy sigh slipping past her lips. Looking over to the canine sitting beside her, she saw that he was looking right at her. His little eyes filled with sadness. Fresh tears spilled from her own eyes, her heart clinching painfully in her chest. Vivi brought her arm up and tried to wipe her face with the fabric of her blue sweater. Mystery whined from beside her, pawing her side in an attempt to comfort her. He then pressed his nose into her sweater, curling himself closer to her. Vivi turned to give her dog her full attention. Even in the dark, Vivi could see the blood stains that still covered his small form. This reminded her of the fact that she herself was also still covered in Arthur’s blood. Without warning, Vivi grabbed hold of Mystery and pulled him into her lap and held him close to her.

  
“Why did this have to happen?” Vivi whispered into Mystery’s fur as she tightened her grip on him. She had always considered herself to be a leader with a good judgment. That was why none of them had ever been hurt before, even with Arthur’s tendency to get kidnapped. She and Arthur had always figured it out. Thinking about their past cases, Vivi felt a feeling of wrongness. The Mystery Skulls had always just been her, Arthur, and Mystery; so why did it feel like that wasn’t true. Vivi’s head started to hurt as she leafed through her memories. Was there something she was forgetting? A wet tongue licked her cheek, pulling Vivi out of her painful, spiraling thoughts. Vivi found herself staring into Mystery’s eyes. He looked her strait in the eye, and then turned his head to look out the window beside Vivi’s head. Wandering what had grabbed his attention; Vivi fallowed his gaze only to find herself looking at the entrance to the emergency room. The ambulance was still parked just outside the automatic sliding glass doors, though Vivi was curtain that Arthur had already been brought inside.

Looking back at Mystery, Vivi saw the serious look he was giving her. It wasn’t hard to tell what he was trying to tell her. Why are you sitting out here when you should be in there? Vivi knew she had waited long enough. She needed to go inside to see what was happening. “You’re going to have to wait here in the van then Mystery. Hospitals don’t allow pets after all.” The small dog simply wagged his stubby tail and butted his head into her side. Letting out a frail laugh, Vivi petted his head, “I get it, I’m going.” She unbuckled her seatbelt, flipped off the headlights and stepped out. It was a cool fall night, so Mystery would be ok staying in the van. She never liked having to leave him in a vehicle, but at the moment she truly didn’t have a choice. After insuring that everything was locked up right, Vivi finally made her way into the hospital.

  
Vivi already knew that she looked terrible. Messy blue hair, tear stained cheeks, and blood covered clothing. She wasn’t surprised when a nurse by the automatic doors gasped when appeared in the older woman’s line of sight. Well, Vivi assumed it was a nurse; she could also just be a medical assistant. The woman was slightly taller than Vivi with black hair that was pulled back from her face. She wore the standard blue hospital scrubs and held a clipboard in one hand. “Ma’am are you alright? Do you need assistance?” Vivi shook her head. “No I’m fine, it’s not my blood. It’s my friend’s, he was just brought in. His name is Arthur Kingsmen. I fallowed the ambulance that brought him.” The nurse, whose name tag read Nancy Grant, covered her mouth with one of her hands. “You mean that boy who was missing one of his arms? You must be the friend the paramedics mentioned. ” Vivi simply nodded her head in response. “My name is Nancy Grant, I’m a nurse by the way, and so once you sign in I’ll take you to the sitting room further in.” Vivi nodded once more, “I’m Vivi Yukino,” She would have shook Nancy’s hand, but with her own bloodstained, the bluenett decided against it. Vivi then headed over to the reception desk to do just that.

  
After signing a sign in sheet and getting a visitor’s sticker, Vivi fallowed the dark haired woman through a pair of double doors and down various corridors. It felt like a maze in here, the hallways twisting and branching off into other corridors. Eventually, Vivi was lead to a small waiting room. It was smaller than the one at the front entrance and was currently empty. The bluenett took a seat on one of the comfy cushioned chairs against the wall. At least the chairs here looked more comfortable than the ones in the main lobby. The nurse had already left. That wasn’t surprising, hospitals where always busy after all. Vivi sat back and pulled out her phone. The case and screen both had blood smears from when Vivi had handled it before. Vivi’s pale hands had been covered in blood while she had used her scarf to try to compress Arthur’s wound.

  
Sighing, Vivi got up and walked over to the restroom that was adjacent to the waiting area. Entering the small bathroom, Vivi walked over to the sink attached to the wall. The faucet, and soap dispenser where motion activated so Vivi didn’t have to touch anything as she began to wash her hands, and face. Red tinted water went down the drain as Vivi cleaned the blood off her. Once she dried herself off, she then washed the blood off of her phone and returned to the chair she had been sitting in. At least she felt a little better after cleaning up a bit.

  
Vivi had barely sat down when she saw a familiar face hurry into the waiting room. A young woman with long blue hair in a ponytail hurried over to Vivi, wrapping her long slim arms around Vivi’s shoulders. She was dressed in the same attire as the nurse from before. The only difference being the name tag which read, Vera Yukino. “Oh Vivi, are you ok? I heard what happened.” The woman that was currently hugging Vivi was her big sister. Vera Yukino is three years older than Vivi and is a medical assistant who is currently employed at this hospital. The younger bluenett hugged Vera back, the two sisters having a private moment.

  
“I’m fine, Vera. Its Arthur I’m worried about.” Vivi pulled back a bit to meet her sister’s eyes. “Aren’t you still working Sis, is it ok for you to be sitting in here with me?” Vera only laughed at the question. “You don’t have to worry about that silly, I just clocked out so I can sit here with my little sis for as long as you need me to. I know how much you care about Arthur; I would never leave you alone while you were hurting. That’s what big sisters are for. Plus,” Her sister’s voice suddenly turned serious, “I can’t have you blaming yourself for this, what happened to Arthur isn’t your fault.”

  
Vivi knew that Vera’s words were meant to comforting, reassuring even, and yet those last words stung her heart like a stab wound. Vivi couldn’t meet her sister’s eyes anymore, her heart filled with more shame then she could handle. No words could describe how much she blamed herself, how her reckless need to solve the supposedly unsolvable had almost cost her best friend his life. Vivi wasn’t used to feeling such gut wrenching guilt. It consumed her, tearing her apart from the inside out. Before she knew it, words were spilling from her mouth poison. “You don’t understand, it’s all my fault, Sis. Why did I have to insist we go into that stupid cave! I dragged him along even though he said he didn’t want to go. I’m a horrible friend.” Vivi help onto Vera tightly as she fell apart in her sister’s arms. She was crying again, her body shacking as she allowing her sister to comfort her for the first time in years. “He’s going to die, and it’ll be all my fault! I`m a horrible person!” Vera tightened her grip on Vivi, holding her as tight as she could. “Don’t you say that! There was no way you could have known that would happen. None of that is true and you know it. You’re not a horrible friend, don’t you ever thing that’s true.” Vivi shook her head fervently, but made no response. There was nothing she could say that would ever fully express what she was feeling. What happened today would haunt her for the rest of her live. Vivi would always blame herself; she already knew that to be true.

  
Pulling back to look at her face, Vera wiped the tears from Vivi’s eyes. “It’s going to ok, Sis, just believe. That’s all we can do.” Vivi’s sister then looked around the waiting room as if looking for someone, or something. Then turned her blue gaze onto Vivi. “I just noticed that Lewis isn’t here with you. Is he waiting outside with Mystery? I understand if he is, dogs aren’t allowed inside the hospital after all. It’s just strange not seeing the two of you together.” Vivi was completely thrown off guard by her sister’s sudden rambling. What in the world was she even talking about? She blinked once, twice, and then gave her loving sister a blank stare.

  
“Who?”

  
All thought about her grief vanished with the sudden question. Seriously, who exactly is…Lewis was it? Why was her sister asking about someone she doesn’t know out of the blue like that? And yet the name seemed to trigger a sense of déjà that Vivi couldn’t explain. God, Vivi was to mentally exhausted for this right now. She doesn’t know a Lewis, so why did the thought make her feel so uneasy? Like she was forgetting something. But that couldn’t be. Her sister wasn’t one to play around in these kind of situations, so why was she bringing up this Lewis person. Vera had spoken about him as though he was as close of a friend as Arthur, but that couldn’t be true. Vivi doesn’t have a friend named Lewis, she would know if she did. Which she doesn’t.

  
Vera gave her little sister a deadpan look. “What do you mean, who? Pull yourself together Vivi. I know you’re in shock but come on, you should at least be able to recognize the name of your own boyfriend.” Wait, what? What in the hell is Vera talking about now. Vivi knows for a fact she has never had a boyfriend before, so why, for the love of all things holy, is Vera saying that Vivi does. It doesn’t make any sense. She really was too tiered for this shit. Vivi couldn’t help the aggravation from slipping into her words; she was truly far too exhausted to put up with this. “Vera, I don’t know any Lewis, and you know I don’t have a boyfriend, or ever had one. So why are you saying that?” Vera didn’t back down, that was one of the things the two sisters had in common. It was one of the reasons they squabbled a lot when they were younger. The older Yukino sister narrowed her eyes in slits, the heat of their intensity unnerved Vivi. “Did the two of you get into a fight, is that why you’re acting like you don’t know him?” Vera gritted her teeth, “I swear to God if that giant of a man hurt you…” “No, no, no, that’s not it Vera! I don’t know what you’re talking about! I honestly don’t know anyone called Lewis! And what do you mean by, giant of a man. Is this Lewis person a big guy or something?” This was truly too much.

  
Vera’s eyes widened in shock, her mouth making an O shape as something seemed to click. “Oh, oh you’re being serious.” “Of course I…hey!” Vivi was cut off as long slim fingers found their way into her hair, feeling along her scalp. “Did you hit your head, is that why you can`t remember Lewis?” Vera pulled one of her arms back and help up four fingers in front of Vivi’s face. “How many fingers am I holding up?” This was getting ridiculous; Vivi had enough of her sister trying to tell her that she had forgotten someone, someone who was supposedly her boyfriend. Like she would ever forget someone special like that. Besides, she was curtain that amnesia doesn’t work that way. You don’t just forget a single person’s existence and nothing else, right?

  
Vivi smacker her sister’s hand away, “I don’t have a concussion! Will you stop that, what part of I don’t know a Lewis don’t you understand? Why are you pushing it so hard?” Vivi didn’t mean to raise her voice, but she really wasn’t in the mood to deal with this, not with Arthur in such critical condition. But before she could stand up to calm herself down, she saw Vera pull out her phone from a pocket in her scrub bottoms. It was an older model then Vivi’s and was in a worn, chipped hot pink case. “If words alone won’t work then I’ll just have to show you a picture I took of the two of you at the New Year’s party.” Their family had held a small party at their house new years, though Vivi was curtain that there was no Lewis there.

  
With no way of stopping her sister, Vivi sat and watched as Vera pulled up the picture she had mentioned. Vivi wasn’t sure what to expect, how her sister could have a picture of her with someone that doesn’t exist. Vera swiped her finger over her phone, her eyes scanning her screen intensely. “No, no, there it is!” A look of triumph crossed the elder sister’s face. “This is you and your boyfriend,” Vera said as she turned the phone around to show Vivi. But when Vivi tried to look at the picture her sister was showing, she found herself unable to focus on it. Her head started to hurt, as well as the space behind her eyes. Vivi was so focused on trying to blink the pain away that she missed her sister gasp in shock. Once her vision cleared, she found herself looking at a strange sight. Displayed on her sister’s phone was a picture of Vivi at the family new year’s party, as well as a…purple blur? Wait, what? There was no way that could be real, why would there by a large human shaped blur in the picture next to her.

  
Vivi looked up at her sister’s wide eyes, her question dying on her lips as she saw just how spooked Vera looked. The pink cased phone slipped from her manicured hand and hit the tile floor. Luckily the thick casing prevented the cell from cracking any further.

  
“What the hell was that Vivi?”

  
Was Vera, scared? The older sister put her hand up to her mouth, “You’re eyes, Vivi, they, why did they…” Vera couldn’t seem to get a coherent sentence out. She was that startled. The only other time Vivi had seen her sister look that way was when their grandma had her stroke last year. Now Vivi was starting to get scarred. Without thinking, Vivi grabbed hold of her sisters shaking hand with her own. Holding them tightly as she looked into freighted blue eyes that looked just like her own. “What are you talking about Vera, what’s wrong with my eyes?”

  
Vera opened and closed her mouth several times before finally getting out, “They glowed Vivi, and didn’t you feel it. Your eyes starting glowing with this magenta light when you looked at the picture.” Vera took a jagged breath, “That wasn’t normal Vivi, what in the hell have you gotten yourself involved in!?” Vera lowered her voice from its near scream to a lower, frightened whisper. “Is that, is that why Arthur’s hurt, why you can’t remember Lewis? Did you finally manage to bit off more than you can chew” The younger bluenett could only stare blankly. Vivi’s brain refused to work; she hadn’t heard that correct, right? There was no way her sister had just told her that her eyes glowed. And what was that part about Arthur and…Lewis? What was Vera getting at; nothing supernatural happened in that stupid cave! Arthur was just mauled by a wild animal, and no Lewis had been there! How many times did she have to tell her sister that before she dropped it?

  
But the part about her eyes glowing magenta bothered her the most. Had her eyes actually, glowed? Is that why the back of her eyes had started to hurt when she had first tried to look at the photo with the strange blur? Wait, hadn’t she seen a similar blur back at the cave that she also hadn’t been able to focus on. What did that mean, had something happened? That familiar feeling of unease returned, but Vivi pushed it away. She didn’t have time to think about that. Vivi opened her mouth question her sister further, but never got the change. At that moment a gruff voice filled the small waiting room.

  
“What the hell happened to my boy, Vivi!?”

  
Vivi snapped her head to the sound of the enraged voice. Standing at the waiting room doorway was none other than Lance Kingsmen, Arthur’s uncle. The older man’s eyes were full of fear and anger as he stared her down. Lance wasn’t a very tall man, about a foot shorter then Arthur. But despite his lack of height, he was a thick, stout man who Vivi was curtain could take down anyone who got in his way. He was wearing a championship belt after all, even if he did deny it. Vivi’s words failed her; an image of a bleeding out Arthur appeared in her mind’s eye. Guilt and nausea crashed back into her like a wave. She had been so focused on the Lewis issue that she had managed to get her mind off of Arthur. Of his to pale body losing too much blood. Now there was no escaping the memory.

  
She once again felt his warm blood dripping from her hands; the scent of iron filled her nose. Suffocating her with its thick odor. She could even taste it in the back of her throat. She was back in that dark cave again, Arthur bleeding out before her very eyes. Vivi’s breath hitched, her head started to grow hazy. Her body started to feel light and heavy all at once. Oh God she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t…her thoughts started to fall apart. Vivi couldn’t get a coherent thought to form, her mind starting to loop as all she could see and feel was Arthur bleeding out in front of her. Arthur Dying in front of her…

  
A high pitched wailing sound found its way in Vivi’s ears, growing louder by the second. It took a moment for her to realize that the sound was coming from her own throat. Everything was swirling, she couldn’t breathe. Her hands were covered with her friend’s voice, she can’t breathe. Vivi had started to hyperventilate; a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her middle, gently holding her in place. Though Vivi barely noticed as her body shook uncontrollably. Vivi didn’t even realize that she had started to cry again. Oh God, why can’t she stop crying?

  
“Vivi, you have to calm down, steady your breathing.” A voice that sounded like her sister’s drifted in, though it sounded far away. “Holy shit, is she ok?” The gruff voice of Lance broke through the static consuming Vivi’s thoughts. More words seeped through, though they came through broken. “Where’s Lewis…don’t know…Vivi’s memories…call doctor…breath…” Finally, everything turned black. Vivi’s mind finally went blank as she slipped into unconsciousness.

 

 

Outside in the parking lot, a small bloodstained dog laid within the darkened interior of the orange van’s front seat. Mystery laid his stained muzzle onto his front paws, his floppy ears pressed against his head. His heart was weighed down with soul crushing guilt. He didn’t even have the will to use an illusion to make himself invisible to fallow Vivi. He couldn’t bear to see her hurt, especially sense it was his fault that Arthur was in this mess in the first place. After all these centuries, Mystery had never felt like this before. He knew that humans were fragile, that they lived short lives and died so easily. Yet it was different to see it up close and personal with those he considered his family. Despite his appearance, Mystery wasn’t the normal little doggie he pretended to be. He was in fact a powerful kitsune who has lived several hundred years, the six tails he had in his true form was proof of that. He had the ability to create powerful illusions that could pass for reality, and take human form whenever he pleased. Though he still struggled to keep all of his tails hidden. And yet, he couldn’t do anything for Arthur except mutilate him.

  
Arthur, who had cared for him as though he was his own dog and loved him just as much as Vivi did. Who had done so much for him over the years. Mystery could still remember the constant head pats and belly rubs Arthur would give him. Vivi had been no better, pats and rubs always being given. He might not be a real dog, but he still loved attention. And he was curtain that if had been a real dog; he would be spoiled rotten with the amount of attention he got.

  
Mystery whined heartbroken, his tail tucked between his back legs. He pawed at the blood that covered his muzzle. At one point in his past, the feeling of blood in his fur wouldn’t have made him bat an eye. But now, to have his fur covered with Arthur’s turned his stomach. It was an awful feeling. Blood still coated the inside of Mystery’s mouth from when he had seized hold of Arthur’s arm and tore it clear from his body. Mystery hadn’t wanted to do that, he never wanted to harm any of his special humans, especially not Arthur. The young man was already easily scared enough as it is.

  
But he did what he had to. As a fellow spirit, he had no way of properly exercising the evil spirit from the blonde’s body. Spirits don’t have the ability of exorcism, that right belonged only to humans. Which had left the disguised dog with no other option than to forcibly rip the demon from the blonde’s body. Though he knew that would have consequences of its own later down the road. The memory would forever be burned into Mystery’s memories, as well as the taste and smell of his friend’s blood. And now there was a chance that Arthur wouldn’t make it, and it would be his entire fault. In his attempt to save him, Mystery had almost killed him in the process. And that wasn’t even the worst of what haunted the dog’s mind. Not only had he failed Arthur, but Lewis as well. Lewis, who that spirit had killed using Arthur’s body. The kind, loving softie of a giant had deserved better then getting left behind in that dark cavern. He could still hear the sound of Vivi screaming after Lewis had been pushed over the cliff.

  
Now that Mystery thought about it, he had found it odd that Vivi hadn’t mentioned Lewis to the paramedics who had arrived to help Arthur. Actually, why hadn’t she mentioned him when she first called 911? Something wasn’t right. Thinking about it, Mystery realized that he had felt something off about her when she had found them in the tunnel, though he had been too focused on Arthur to pay it any mind. There had simply been more pressing matters at the moment.  
Mystery was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the jingling of keys. His ears perked up at the sound, was Vivi back to get him. The very idea made his stump of a tail wage in excitement. But was soon faced with confusion when the driver’s door opened, causing the automatic lights on the roof of the van to came on. Instead of Vivi, the elder Yukino sibling stood in the open doorway. Vera wore her normal hospital scrubs as well as a dark blue huddie. Both Sisters loved the color blue for some reason.

  
In Vera’s right hand, Mystery noticed that she held Vivi’s key chain. Vivi most have given it to her for some reason. A thought crossed the dog’s mind. Vivi most have asked her sister to take me home while she waits to see if Arthur will be ok. Mystery didn’t like the idea, but it made sense. Vivi was a responsible woman who wouldn’t just leave a small dog locked in a van all night. And while Mystery didn’t want to leave there side, he knew there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t even go into the hospital to comfort Vivi properly.

  
Mystery heard Vera gasp as she saw the blood on him. “You poor baby, I’m going to have to bath you good when I get you home.” So Mystery had been right. Vera reached behind the seat and grabbed a blanket that Arthur had been lounging on at one point and used it to pick him up. It was clearly to keep his bloodstained fur from getting her clothes stained. That to made sense. Mystery let Vera pick him up with the blanket, and carry him out of the van. Once she locked it back up, Vera carried him down several rows before stopping in front of her own car, which wasn’t much to look at. But it was still nice all the same. Still keeping him wrapped up, Vera placed him in the passenger’s seat then got in herself. The sound of the door slamming fallowed by the engine and headlights coming to life, filled Mystery with sadness. He knew he wasn’t saying goodbye, but it hurt to have to leave while his remaining to humans stayed behind.

  
It didn’t take too long for Vera to pull up into the Yukino family’s driveway. Vera got out with Mystery, once more locking her car door. The two quietly entered the house, everyone else being asleep. It was late after all. Vera was especially quiet passing her grandmother’s room, which was the only bedroom on the first floor. From what Mystery has observed, the elderly woman wasn’t able to walk up stairs anymore. Like Vera had mentioned when first getting Mystery out of Arthur’s van, she took him straight to the upstairs bathroom. While he hated baths, he hated being covered in Arthur’s blood even more. It had taken much longer then Mystery would have liked for Vera to scrub the drying blood out of his white fur. Let’s just say a lot of doggie shampoo was used. Once Mystery was all squeaky clean, Vera wrapped him in his red bath towel and started drying him off.

  
Mystery was both mentally and physically exhausted when Vera took him with her to her bedroom at the end of the hall by Vivi’s. Both girls still lived at home, though Vivi spent most of her time on the road with the Mystery Skulls. But considering what had transpired tonight, that would no longer be the case. Mystery jumped up onto Vera’s bed as she changed into a set of PJs she pulled out of her dresser. Once the older Yukino sister got into bed, Mystery pressed himself against her side. Mystery already knew he wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight. This being proven true as Vera long sensed fell into a deep sleep while Mystery remained awake at her side, his heart broken to many pieces to count.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was a dark chapter, hopefully the next one wont be so bad, though I can't guarantee it. I got the idea for Vera while writing, I got the idea of Vivi being comforted by a relative in the waiting room. I wanted to show Vivi's trauma over Arthur sense most fanfics i read are about Arthur's trauma over Lewis. I hoped you like it and like before, please leave a comment to let me know what you thought.


	3. Healing and Resolution

Blue eyes began to flutter open as Vivi started to regain awareness. Light streamed in from the large window to her left, falling onto the bluenett’s face. Vivi blinked her eyes several times before sitting up, feeling disoriented. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess as she looked around the room she had woken up in. h]Her head hurt, and her whole body just felt exhausted, as though she hadn’t slept despite the fact she had just woken up. Taking in her surroundings, Vivi instantly realized that she was in hospital room. It was a small, simple room with a single bed, which Vivi as currently resting in, as well as a dresser pressed into the corner by the window. The curtains that usually covered the window were pulled back, allowing the bright sunlight to shine into Vivi’s eyes. The room had that typical sterile feel that all hospital rooms, weather they were big or small, always seemed to have. From the spotless white walls, to the plain tile floors, the room gave off the feel of a place that wasn’t lived in. It felt lonely, if one was to be honest. Though considering the room was most likely used for those who only stayed for a couple days at the most before being discharged, it wasn’t to surprising.

Vivi let out a loud yawn, rubbing her eyes with the inside of her hand. She continued to examine the room around her, racking her brain in an attempt to remember why she was there. For what reason could she have woken up in a hospital of all places? She didn’t think she was hurt, though the dull ache in the back of her head stated otherwise. Nor did she feel sick or anything. It was strange to say the least. Could something have happened to put her here? Vivi tried to remember what she had been doing before waking up here, but was stopped when the dull ache, which she had been able to ignore, increased suddenly without warning. Vivi’s breath hitched at the sudden spike of pain. She grabbed the side of her head with her hand, wincing as the pain faded back into the dull ache from before. No matter how hard she racked her brain, nothing would come to her. She knew she had been with Arthur, doing something. Had they been on a case? No, that couldn’t be it, Vivi would remember if they were doing something important. So what could she have been doing to land her in the hospital? It was no use her brain just would cooperate with her.

Throwing of the thin white bed sheet that covered her lower body, Vivi saw that she was dressed in hospital clothing. They looked like the scrubs that Vera always wore when she went to work. Why she was wearing these instead of a hospital gown was a question Vivi had no intention of asking about. Looking over to the bedside table beside her, Vivi saw her phone resting beside a plain lamp; as well as her magenta glasses. The two colorful items were the only colorful things to be seen within the plain looking room, other than Vivi’s blue hair of course. Vivi put on her glasses then reached over, picking up the phone and turning the screen on to see what time it was. The time read 12:23 in bold white numbers. She had slept past noon? Vivi might be able to sleep through just about anything on most occasions, but she had never slept in that late before. Not counting the times she had slept in after staying up all night. She then noticed just how low her phone’s battery was. The bar in the upper right corner was red as it was almost empty. Vivi sighed as he sat her phone back down. She would have to ask someone for a charger when she got a chance.

A soft knock at the door caught Vivi’s attention. Looking away from her almost dead phone, she glanced over to the door that connected her room to the rest of the hospital. “Come in,” Vivi called out to whoever it was on the other side. It was probably as nurse checking up on her, and if so, she would ask them why she was here. The door was slowly pushed open, a mass of bright red curls popping into view. At the sight of the red hair, Vivi instantly knew who it was on the other side without even needing to see their face. She would recognize that hair from anywhere.

“Hey Scarlett,” Vivi greeted, a smile spreading across her face. She might not be able to remember the circumstances behind her hospitalization, but as least one of her friends was here to see her.  From behind the door, a small heart shaped face slowly appeared, a strange nervous look plastered on the other girl’s dark face. This surprised Vivi more than waking up in a hospital. Normally Scarlett would have already bounced in to greet her. But for some reason, her boundless energy seemed to have left her as the red haired girl hesitated at the opened door. That made Vivi nervous, that wasn’t like her at all. “Hey Vivi, I heard what happened.” That was all Scarlett said as she made her way over to the bed, taking a seat on the bed next to Vivi.

Scarlett Rose is a good friend of Vivi’s, the two having known each other sense middle school. The girl that now sat on the bed beside Vivi was a tall, slim dark skinned young woman with dyed shoulder length red curls. The only clue to her hair being dyed its bright color being her thin black eyebrows. Scarlett was taller than Vivi, with long legs that any girl would be jealous of. She was also just slightly shorter then Arthur. Scarlett had been a member of the Mystery club, a club Vivi had created, back in high school. Vivi still remembered it well; it had been her, Arthur, Scarlett, as well as another boy named Andy Faust. When they had graduated, Vivi had asked the other girl is she wanted to be a part of the newly formed Mystery skulls; unfortunately Scarlett had turned her down. Apparently, she had already had her heart set on helping her moms in their tailoring shop.

It was a small building with an upstairs apartment on the east side of town, not far from the river that the town had gotten its name from. Vivi has visited the Pale Rose, a few times and knew from experience just how high quality their work was. Scarlett’s biological mother, Lissa, was a master tailor and seamstress and had been the one to teach her daughter everything she knew. Her other mom, Reana was the one who handled the business side of things. It had actually been Scarlett, with the help of Lissa, who had been the one to made Vivi’s favorite blue scarf for her 16th birthday. It had been a gift that had put a big smile on her face. It was Scarlett’s first true completed masterpiece, and she had made it just for Vivi. Because of that, Vivi had cherished it ever sense. Always wearing it to show off just how much she loved and appreciated it.

Do to her mom being picky about clothes, Scarlett has always worn nice clothing, always dressed to impress. Even now, she wore a beautiful red button-less low-cut blouse, a deep red, almost black skirt that ended just above her knees, black tights, and a pair of gorgeous shiny red heeled ankle boots. A black headband pressed into her red curls, as well as a black choker with a small silver cross around her slim neck completed her look. She looked as lovely as ever, even with a sad look on her face. She had said something about being sorry about Arthur? What was that about?         

Vivi had no idea what the other girl was talking about. What was that all about? She wanted to ask Scarlett what had happened, but for some reason her voice choked up when she open her mouth. Tears welled up in dark eyes as the mocha skinned girl grabbed hold of one of Vivi’s hands and held them with her own. “I’m so sorry about Arthur, I wish there was something I could do?” A cold lump formed in Vivi’s stomach. What did she mean by that? Fear gripped her heart as her breath caught in her throat. She was starting to feel lightheaded as she choked out, “What are you talking about, what happened to Arthur?” Her voice had come out weaker than she would have liked.

Scarlett let go of Vivi’s hand, her dark eyes darkening with sadness. She opened her mouth, only to close it again without having made a single sound. Vivi had never seen her friend behave like this before. Scarlett was a brutally honest person, almost verging on rude. Though Vivi knows it comes from a good place, which is why it bothered her so much the she could get her words out. It scared her in a way she couldn’t explain. What happened to Arthur? Why was she in the hospital? Once again Vivi tried to remember, this time trying her hardest to push past the pain that flared up. Red flashed before her eyes, the smell of blood filled her nose. Then all at once the floodgate in Vivi’s mind opened up. Horrifying images played out in Vivi’s mind. Arthur’s broken body bleeding out from where his arm had been torn away. The scent of iron was suddenly everywhere; she couldn’t get away from it. She could feel warm blood dripping from her hands. All of this hit her like a frat train, causing her breath to come out in short jagged gasps. “…Arthur…”

Her vision was dimming around the edges, the sound of Scarlett’s voice fading as Vivi felt herself starting to panic again. Vivi remembered now, the last thing she remembered was sitting in that small waiting room with her big sis. Arthur’s uncle had shown up, and Vivi had most likely had a panic attack. She wasn’t completely curtain if that was it, but it was what made sense. And now it was happening again, her mind looping back to the moment in the cave, when she had been forced to drag her best friend from the cave and compress his wound while help arrived. “…Vivi please calm down, just take deep breaths. I’m sorry for bringing up Arthur; I didn’t mean to upset you.” Vivi couldn’t let herself be dragged down, not with her friend trying to comfort her. She forced herself to take deep shaky breaths, doing the best she could to force herself to calm down.  And to Vivi’s amazement, it actually started work; the darkness that had started to creep into her vision was now reseeding. It wasn’t until she mostly calmed down that she realized that Scarlett had wrapped her arms arm Vivi’s shoulders holding her with a gentleness that Vivi hadn’t know she was capable of.  

Once Vivi had pulled herself together, she pulled away from Scarlett her eyes downcast. She didn’t even notice Scarlett pulling out a handkerchief until the black cloth was being handed to her, “Here Vivi.” The bluenett took the offered cloth into her hands. When she went to rub her eyes, she noticed that her face was wet, she had been crying without realizing it. No wander Scarlett handed her the soft black handkerchief. After quickly whipping her face, she tried to hand it back to her friend only for her to shack her head. “You keep it, I don’t need it.” Vivi felt herself smile, though it wasn’t one that reached her eyes. “Thanks Scarlett.” The darker skinned girl smiled back, “Your welcome.”

“I see she’s up,” The two girls were startled by the male voice coming from the open door. Looking to see who had spoken, Vivi saw that it was Andy. He must have tagged along with Scarlett. Andy was a short young man with pale skin and dark circles under his piercing blue-green eyes. A mop of shaggy green hair covered his head, reaching just past his ears. The top of his head was a dark green, the color slowly fading into a lighter shade at the ends. In his hands he held a cardboard cup holder which held three styrofoam cups of what Vivi recognized as coffee from the café a block from here. She, Arthur, Scarlett, and Andy used to go there all the time back when they were still in school. It was one of the few places that Andy every seemed to outwardly enjoy. Speaking of Andy, the boy walked over to the two girls, his usual blank expression on his face.

Unlike Scarlett’s fashionable outfit, Andy’s clothing always seemed to have that thrown together feel. As it he had grabbed something at random and put it on without a second glance. Although, his outfit did seem to match today, amazingly. Andy wore a tattered short sleeved brown jacket, which he has owned for as long as Vivi has known him, over a wrinkled green shirt and matching long baggy brown shorts. A black belt with a skull buckle in the front could be seen hooked around his waist. His arms and legs were covered with green warmers. Finishing it off was a pair of black tennis-shoes that has seen better days. He kind of has this hobo punk style going on. And let’s just say that the resident fashionista in red has been silently judging him for years with her eyes. 

Scarlett frowned when she saw the name on the coffee cups, “You didn’t have to go all the way to LaBell just to get us coffee you know. You could have just gotten it from the cafeteria down stairs.” Andy knitted his puffy round eyebrows together, his lips setting into a pout. “That coffee sucks and you know it. Besides, you asked me to get you a cup of good coffee so I did it.” Scarlett let out a soft laugh, holding her hand out. “Whatever you say man, just give me my coffee.” Andy handed her one of the cups, then held one out to Vivi. “I got you one to, just in case you woke up before I got back. It’s your favorite, vanilla latte with extra cream.”

Vivi happily took the styrofoam cup into her hands. The warmth from the cup helped ease some of the tension that remained from before. Andy grabbed the plastic chair from by the door and pulled it over to Vivi’s hospital bed. It was then that she saw that he hadn’t just brought coffee. There was a brown paper bag that she had failed to notice. Setting his coffee down on the bedside table, Andy dug through the bag and pulled out three large fresh pastries. At the sight, Vivi’s stomach began to rumble. Now that she thought about it, Vivi couldn’t remember the last time she ate. “Looks like someone’s hungry. Good think I bought extra,” Andy spoke with a rare smirk on his face, waving the bag tauntingly. He then handed Vivi the delicious smelling pastry, which she instantly took a bite out of. It turned out to be strawberry, her favorite. Vivi inhaled the sugary confection in just a few bites, her empty stomach demanding more. Vivi rinsed down the strawberry pastry with her equally delicious vanilla latte. The other two ate at a slower pace, the room filled with a comfortable silence.

After devouring two more pastries, Vivi looked over to Scarlett, who was still sitting on the bed beside Vivi. It suddenly occurred to her that she never asked how she found out about what happened. “Hey, Scarlett,” the girl in question looked her way, “Yes?” “I was wondering, before you said that you heard what happened. How did you hear about it?” Scarlett lowered the confection she was currently eating. “You’re sister stopped by the shop this morning just after we opened. She told me what happened. I guess she didn’t have my number.” Vivi nodded her head, which made sense when she thought about it. “Afterword I called Andy and told him to meet up with me at the shop so we could visit you together.” Andy spoke up, “We also tried to see Arthur, but there not letting anyone other than family see him. From what I heard, he’s still in critical condition.” At the mention of Arthur, Vivi felt her insides squeeze. All the gilt that had crushed her the night before was still present, just pushed down beneath the surface.

Having seen Vivi’s dejected face, Andy quickly changed topics. “Anyway, I ran into Vera on the way up here, she said you can leave when ever you’re ready.” Vivi simply nodded her head, “That’s good.” Scarlett then reached down and picked up a satchel she hadn’t noticed until now. It was deep blue and had the name Vivi Yukino written on the top in bold white marker.  Vivi most have brought it from home. “I think your sister might have dropped you off some clothes earlier. You can’t leave in that after all.” Vivi plucked the bag from Scarlett’s hands, “you’ve got that right. I’m going to go ahead and change.”

Vivi finally got out of bed, and walked over to a second door that led to a small bathroom. Once inside, she opened up the satchel and pulled out a pair of blue jeans as well as a darker blue sweater that was similar to the one she had been wearing the night before. A pair of pale blue ankle socks where also inside, as well as a pair of white sneakers.  The only thing missing was a blue scarf. Vivi’s stomach lurched when she remembered what had happened to her special scarf. It had been so badly soaked with blood that she was sure that if it hadn’t already been tossed, she would have to do it herself. Vivi’s heart ached at the thought. The precious scarf that Scarlett had sown for her was completely ruined. There was no way she would be able to wear it again, Vivi was curtain that there was no way that much blood would ever come out anyway. But despite the sadness she felt, she knew she had done the right thing in using it to help Arthur. Once Vivi had pulled out the clean clothes, she saw that at the bottom of the bag, was her key chain and hair brush, as well as a folded up piece of paper. Pocketing the keys, Vivi grabbed the folded paper and opened it up. A small note had been written on the folded up paper. Vivi recognized the hand writing as Vera’s. The note read:

Vivi

_Hey, Vivi in case I don’t see get a chance to see you, I want you know that you don’t have to worry about Arthur’s van. His uncle picked it up this morning to take it back to his place. Plus, I took Mystery home and bathed him last night after you collapsed._

_Love you, Sissy_

Well there were two less things to worry about. Once changed, Vivi quickly brushed her hair and left the bathroom. In the room, Scarlett and Andy were whispering to each other, their heads leaning close together. Once they heard the door open the two stopped and pulled away. Vivi narrowed her eyes, were they talking about something they didn’t want her to know about. They know she doesn’t like secrets. Vivi was certain that she had heard the name _Lewis_ , but didn’t think anything of it. It didn’t mean anything to her anyway.

“So Vivi, once your check out, do you want me to drop you off at your house?” Scarlett asked a genuine smile on her face. Though if Vivi was being honest with herself, the other girl looked like she wanted to say something else, but didn’t for some reason. Andy on the other hand, had his normal stoic expression, giving no clues as to what he was thinking. He pulled a sucker and popped it into his mouth, without looking at anyone. Vivi thought about it, did she really want to go home? No, not yet anyway. “How about we go to the park, if the two of you aren’t busy that is?” Vivi didn’t need to elaborate on what park she meant. Their small town only had one park. Willow Park was at the center of town not far from the hospital. Vivi knew it would do her some good to get some fresh air.

Scarlett beamed, “Of course, I’ve got nothing to do.” She then looked to Andy for him to agree as well. Everyone knew Andy never has any plans. Only Andy just sat there staring off into space, swirling his sucker back and forth in his mouth. Scarlett gave the green haired boy a frown before elbowing him in the side. Andy jumped at the sudden hit, glaring at Scarlett, who seemed content with the fact she was able to get the other’s attention. The man then rolled his eyes, “Sounds good, not like I was planning on doing anything today anyway.” He said this while looking at the wall like it was the most interesting thing in the world. That was just how Andy was, a massive pain in the ass. But he was there pain in the ass, and Vivi wouldn’t have it any other way.

Vivi walked over to the bedside table and picked up her phone, only then realizing that she forgotten all about asking for a charger for her phone. Looking over to her two friends, Vivi gave them a sheepish look, “Does one of you have charger I can use; I forgot to ask you when you first got here. My phone’s almost dead.” Scarlett waved her off, “No problem Vi, you can use mine.” The red head fished out a portable phone charger from the hand bag she had brought alone with her. Vivi hadn’t noticed the black velvet material until that moment, the purse having been hidden behind Scarlett’s other side the whole time. Once hooked up, Vivi’s blue cased phone began to charge. Grateful, Vivi thanked her friend than walked over to the still open door. “Come on guys, I’m ready to get out of here all ready.”

Andy shrugged his shoulders and got up, and after throwing away the trash fallowed the two girls out into the hospital hallway. It only took Vivi a few minutes to check out, though she did make sure to ask about Arthur’s condition. From what little could be said, Vivi learned that Arthur had required multiple blood transfusions, as well as surgeries on his left shoulder where his arm had been savagely ripped away. Vivi still vividly remembered just how horrific the blonde’s injury had been.  The images from the night before tried to force their way to the front of her mind, but she pushed them away, she didn’t need that right now. It had been a miracle that he had even survived, that he was even alive right now. Even though he still wasn’t complete out of the woods just yet, he had already beaten the worst of it.  And it would seem that good fortune was finally shining down when Vivi had been told that sense Arthur had survived the night, his chances of pulling though had greatly increased. It still hadn’t been enough to completely ease her fears, but it was close enough. She should probably visit Lance soon to explain what had happened, though she didn’t feel like having that discussion just yet, or ever, if Vivi was to be completely honest.

Once out of the hospital, Vivi was greeted with a cool fall breeze.  It felt nice, almost refreshing as the trio walked through the main parking lot to Scarlett’s deep red Mimi Cupper. Scarlett had bought it with her hard earned money not too long ago, about three or four months ago if Vivi was remembering correctly. Even though the park wasn’t too far from the hospital, it still wasn’t within a reasonable walking distance, not with all of the roads that seemed to connect in the general area. As they reached the small car, Scarlett called out, “Vivi gets shotgun,” before unlocking the driver’s door with her key. Andy gave to reaction to this, his eyes glued to his phone as he lazily leaned on the car, waiting for the red headed woman to unlock the rest of the doors. Once an audible click was heard, Vivi opened the red car door and got inside. “Ok everybody, buckle up,” Scarlett said as she snapped her own seat-belt into place. “I refuse to get a ticket because of someone deciding that _they_ _don’t like wearing one._ ” The part had been said while giving Andy the stink eye, who in turn acted like he didn’t notice. Vivi wandered what that was all about.

It only took about between five and ten minutes to pull into the small parking lot beside the park. Willow Park was a rather large park with a pond at its very center. A paved trail circled the park where people could walk, or jog if they wanted to. The three of them made their way to over to the cement picnic tables that sat not too far away from the play ground where a few children could be seen playing on. As Vivi took a seat on the hard bench, she leaned her hand onto her propped up arm. Looking around, Vivi could see that it was a pretty day to be outside. It wasn’t too hot, or too cold. There was a nice breeze that carried with it the smell of freshly cut grass. The trees with their leaves changing colors, was also a nice sight to see. Everything about the place has always been relaxing, never changing with the passage of time. At least, not any real changes that Vivi has noticed over the years.

The park held many fond memories of her childhood; she had spent so much time playing her as a child. The sight of the familiar playground had always been able to put a smile on her face. Vivi and her friends would come here on the weekends all the time back when they were still in school. Hell, this very park had been were Vivi had very first met Arthur all those years ago back in elementary. It had been during summer break, she would come to play here almost every day. Even after all these years, Vivi had never forgotten how sad that small blonde boy looked while sitting on the swing set. Though the swing set from back then had recently been replaced with a newer one. The smaller Vivi had taken one look at him and instantly decided that she was going to play with him, to make that sad looking boy smile. It hadn’t taken much for Vivi to coax little Arthur into playing in the sand box with her. And after just a few minutes, Vivi had gotten that big smile she had wanted. The two had played together for the rest of the afternoon, only ending when a short man with the same blonde hair as Arthur had called for him. Vivi would later learn that man was Lance, Arthur’s uncle.  

Vivi was pulled out of her thoughts when a manicured hand waved in front of her face. “Hey Vivi, did you hear me?” The bluenett blinked then gave Scarlett her full attention. “Sorry I didn’t, I was lost in thought; thinking about how I used to play here when I was little. We used to come here all the time.” A smile crossed the red head’s face as she seemed to reminisce herself, “Yea, the five of us had so much fun here, it’s a shame we don’t have the time to hang out like we used to.” The moment those words were out of Scarlett’s mouth, her eyes widened as if she had just realized what she had just said. Vivi couldn’t help giving Scarlett a confused look. Even Andy was giving her a wide eyed look, and that in itself was really strange. Andy never reacts that way unless you have just done something insane enough to land yourself in jail, or prison. What did Scarlett mean by ‘ _the five of us’_? It had only ever been four, unless she was counting Mystery? In which case, good for her, Mystery should always be included, even if he was just a dog. But that still didn’t explain Andy’s reaction. Vivi has known that boy long enough to know that when he’s startled, you should be worried.  And o boy was Vivi starting to become worried.

At that moment, she couldn’t help but feel that they were keeping something from her. Then Vivi’s mind flashed back to the hospital room when she had exited the bathroom to the two of them whispering. Were they really hiding something? Vivi’s suspicion was practically confirmed when Scarlett tried to backpedal, which she never does. “Did I say five?” Scarlett laughed awkwardly, fidgeting with a silver earring. Ok, now something was defiantly up. “I meant to say, um, well…” The red head’s awkward stumbling was interrupted by a loud groan from Andy, who now wore a grimace on his face. “That’s it,” The green haired boy declared, his voice filled with aggravation. “I’m sick of this tiptoeing bullshit! I don’t’ care what Vera said!” Vivi’s head snapped over to stare at Andy, shocked by his sudden outburst. What did he mean by _tiptoeing_ and _what Vera said?_ Had her sister asked them to say something? But if so why would she do that?

Before Vivi could voice all the questions swarming inside her head, Scarlett let out a defeated sigh and pulled out her cell phone and began messing with it. “Vivi, I’m going to ask you something very important, and I’m going to need you to answer me with complete honesty.” Scarlett had sounded completely serious, her words leaving no room for argument. What the hell was going on right now? Scarlett glanced at Andy, who nodded back. Whatever it was, the two of them seemed to be in on it together; as well as her sister apparently. With Andy’s nod to go head, Scarlett sighed once more then continued to speak, “Do you recognize the man in this picture?” Scarlett held up her phone so Vivi could get a better look at the photo she wanted her to see. But as her eyes fell onto the picture, they became unfocused, a dull pain emerging behind her eyes. The two others sitting at the cement picnic table both gasped simultaneously.

“Oh my god”

“What the hell”

Andy and Scarlett were now both gaping at her like she had grown a second head or something. “Vivi…what the actual hell was that. You’re eyes just completely flashed the same color as your glasses. What kind of paranormal bullshit did you get involved with this time?” Andy practically screeched, which drew unwanted attention to the three of them. Noticing this, Andy lowered his voice before continuing. “That’s why I refused to join your little group after graduation. I had this feeling that you would go and poke your nose into something you should, and look, I was right.” Vivi narrowed her eyes at Andy’s harsh words. One minute he’s freaking out about her eyes flashing, and the next he’s berating her. Scarlett looked like she wanted to say something as well, but didn’t appear to be able to get the words out. Her hand, which was still holding onto her cell phone, had tightened its grip on the device.  Vivi opened her mouth to defend herself, but the words never came. All she could do was stare at the screen still being displayed before her. On the screen was a strange blurred purple shape.

Vivi didn’t know what to make of it, the sight stumped her. Looking up to meet Scarlett’s still freaked out eyes, Vivi asked, “Hey Scarlett, you asked me if I recognized the person in the photo right?” Scarlett nodded her head, “Do you?” Vivi wasn’t completely sure how to answer that, especially sense she didn’t even see anyone. Andy leaned in, seeming to be waiting to hear her response. Well it was no crazier than her eyes flashing purple, so she might as well tell them. “I didn’t see anyone in the picture, just a blurred out purple shape. There was no one there to recognize.” Besides she didn’t know who she was supposed to be recognizing in the first place. Andy leaned in even more, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the phone himself. “What the hell are you talking about Vivi; I can see Lewis clear as day.” Scarlett quickly turned the phone around so she could see it herself then turned it back. “He’s right Vivi; I can see Lewis just fine as well.” That name, why did it sound so familiar? Vivi recalled hearing it recently, but when. Vivi could only shake her head, not knowing what to make of it. “I’m sorry guys, I really don’t see anyone. And who even is Lewis, is he a friend of yours?”

Scarlett finally lowered her phone, her eyes unable to look at Vivi. “I see, so that’s why Vera asked me not to bring up Lewis? I wasn’t just memory loss, it seems.” Wait, why would her sister ask her friend not bring up the name Lewis? Vivi knew her memories from the night before where fractured; she was having a hard time remembering everything that had happened. But thinking about it, this whole conversation seemed oddly familiar. As if she had had a discussion just like it recently, but when. Then it hit her. She and Vera had argued about a man named Lewis. The memories coming back to her, confusing her even more.

“I can’t believe it; you really don’t remember Lewis, do you?” Vivi could only shake her head at Scarlett’s question. What could she say? It was one thing when it was just Vera saying it, but what was she supposed to think when Scarlett and Andy were now saying it as well. Everyone else’s memories couldn’t be wrong, so the problem had to lie with her. Not to mention that her eyes only seem to glow whenever someone tries to show her a photo of this Lewis person. That can’t be a coincidence. No longer able to argue, Vivi could only consider what this all meant. There was definitely something wrong with her memories, and that terrified her like nothing else before. And if that was the case, was there really a guy named Lewis she couldn’t remember, a guy that was supposedly her boyfriend? And if so, what happened to him? Vivi’s head was pounding now, as if there was something in there that didn’t like where her train of thought was going. And if Vivi was honest with herself, the whole topic was quickly leaving her mentally exhausted.

As if reading her mind, Scarlett said, “We can talk about this later if you want.” Vivi smiled gratefully, “I would appreciate that.” Andy looked like he might argue, but with a stern look from Scarlett, he looked away. With that, the three of them lapsed into a silence, Vivi’s mind still swirling with everything she learned. It was just so much to take in. At one point Vivi check to see if her phone was fully charged. Seeing that it was, she disconnected the portable charger from her phone and handed it back to Scarlett with a ‘thanks’. With her phone now fully charged, Vivi was tempted to look through her own photos to see if the blur was there to, but in the end chose not to. She would deal with that later. For now she would try to clear her head and enjoy the fresh air. Vivi spent a few more hours at the park with her friends. By the time Vivi was ready to head home, the atmosphere between them was no longer thick, though a cloud of uncertainty still hung over their heads. None of them knew what to make of what was happening to Vivi, or how to handle it. All they could do was put it aside and deal with it when they had more information to work with.

 

 

Opening the door to the house she shared with her family, Vivi was greeted by an overly excited Mystery. The small dog in question was look up at her with big eyes as he ran around her excitedly, his stump of a tail wagging ninety miles an hour. Vivi scooped her furry baby into her arms. Even if everything else was going wrong, she knew Mystery would always be there for her.  “Hey buddy, did you miss me?” Her answer was a lick to the right side of her face. Vivi giggled at her dog’s show of affection. The poor think hadn’t seen her all day; it wasn’t surprising that he missed her so much. “I missed you to.”

The sound of footsteps was followed by Vivi’s mom as she walked out of the kitchen. Vivi’s mother is a tall, thin woman with the same blue hair as her two daughters. “Oh sweetie,” Valery Yukino rushed over to her younger daughter and wrapped the shorted girl in her arms. Her embrace worm as she held Vivi tight, “Vera told me what happened last night, I’m so happy your ok.” Vivi put Mystery down so she could return her mom’s hug. The small dog stayed beside her, his own eyes filling with worry. Vivi wrapper her arms around her mother, holding onto her as she let herself be held like a child. The conversation she had had with Andy and Scarlett had left her feeling emotionally drained. “I’m so sorry about Arthur; I know that you and Lewis must be devastated.” There was that name again, this time from her mom. Unable to get a word out, Vivi just tightened her grip on her mom, tears falling from her eyes. Her fear, grief and anger suddenly hitting her like a ton of bricks. Everything she had felt the night before coming back with vengeance.

But this time it was different, not only was she grieving over Arthur, but now she was consumed with a horrid feeling that she was forgetting someone very important. Vivi felt her legs give out as she collapsed onto hard wooden flooring. She could feel a wet nose press into her as her mom held her on the floor. A gentle hand caressed her hair, her mother soothing her the best way she could. It took a few minutes, but Vivi finally managed to pull herself together. Once she did she pulled back, rubbing her sore eyes. “Thanks mom, I think I’ll just take a bath and rest in my room for a while. I’m kind of tiered.” Her mom nodded her head, her eyes filled with understanding. “That’s ok sweetie, you just take it easy.” Her mom helped her up, “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything,” the older woman then walked back to where she was before Vivi came in.

Vivi took a deep breath then make her way upstairs to wash up. After making a quick stop at her room for a change of clothes, Vivi walked into the medium sized bathroom. Filling up the tub with hot water and bubble bath suds, Vivi stripped and got in. The water felt good on her muscles, her body relaxing in the suds. Even though it was still afternoon, the day had felt long. She sat in the hot water until it started to get cold. By then Vivi had started to feel better. After a quick wash and rinse, Vivi got out and dried herself off. With a pair of dark blue shorts and a pale blue t-shirt on, Vivi exited the bathroom. Sitting in front of the bathroom door was Mystery his small head snapping up when she opened the door. His small tail wagged as she stepped out. Vivi couldn’t help feeling surprised by this. Mystery had never sat outside of the bathroom waiting on her before. He must have really missed her after all.

Once again scooping the small dog into her arms, Vivi walked into her room and collapsed onto her bed. Vivi lied there was a while, Mystery pressed against her side. But sleep wouldn’t come, her mind refusing to shut off. Vivi picked up her from where she had sat it down on the bedside table. Out of boredom, she started leafing through the pictures in her phone’s gallery. When she did, she saw that the bizarre blur from before was there as well within most of her photos. Each time she looked at a photo, the unfocusing and dull pain that would appear became more unnoticeable until it vanished all together. It was a strange experience, one that made her feel uneasy. Vivi really couldn’t deny that something was wrong with her. Exiting out of her pictures, Vivi went to her list of saved contacts. Looking at the contacts under _friends,_ a name popped out at her that hadn’t expected to see there.

Jolting up, Vivi couldn’t believe her eyes. In her contacts was a name she didn’t remember adding. The name was ‘Lewis’, the picture beside it nothing more than a blur. She couldn’t believe it; Lewis was in her phone’s contacts. The physical proof before Vivi was more then she could take. With a shaky hand, Vivi taped onto Lewis’s name and then call. Bringing the phone up to her ear, Vivi’s heart pounded in her chest. The phone rang once, twice, then went straight to an automatic voice message. “ _The number you’re trying to call is not available, please try your call again later. Goodbye.”_   The call ended abruptly, leaving Vivi feeling as if someone had punched her in the gut. Did something happen to him, is that why she can’t remember? That thought sent a sharp pain into her skull. It was like her brain was warning her to stop thinking.

Putting the cell down, Vivi saw a white envelope propped up against the lamp on the night stand. Vivi instantly knew what it was. It was the tickets to that new movie Arthur had wanted to go see. Vivi had been the one to buy them both a ticket. The tickets where for next week, but with Arthur in the condition he was in, there was no way he would be able go. Picking up the envelope, Vivi pulled out three tickets? Vivi blinked staring at the extra ticket she didn’t remember buying. She only recalled buying two, one for her and Arthur. So where did the third one come from. Had she bought an extra by mistake? Sighing, Vivi put the tickets back into the envelope, setting it back onto the night stand. She then laid back down and closed her eyes. She soon drifted off to sleep.

 

 

The next two weeks past by in a blur of confusion and constant bombardment. One thing seemed to happen right about the other. Just a few days after Arthur’s accident, Lewis Pepper, a name Vivi has become very well acquainted with, had officially been declared missing. Vivi would never forget when Mr. and Mrs. Pepper, owners of Pepper Paradiso showed up to demand the whereabouts of their son, which had caught Vivi off guard. Over the years of visiting the restaurant, for a reason that she couldn’t recall, she only remembered them only having three daughters. She didn’t remember them having a son. Though she had been able to quickly put two and two together and figure out that these where Lewis’s parents. She knew that saying she didn’t remember him wouldn’t fly, so she had to improvise and just say that she can’t recall what happened that night do to shock, and how she can’t even remember if he was even there or not.

The lies had made Vivi’s skin crawl, but it was the only way to keep people from being suspicious. Besides with Arthur still in a coma, she was the only one who could be questioned. When the police properly investigated the cave for any sighs of Lewis, the only think they found was a busted up cell phone at the bottom of the cavern, which had quickly been identified as Lewis’s. Vivi hadn’t known what to make of that. It was clear proof that this Lewis guy had been there in the cave, even if Vivi didn’t remember it that way. There had also been one other thing, when the police investigated the cave; they also mentioned that continuously flowing green mist had complete vanished. No trace of the strange fog that had filled the cave for as far back as anyone could be found. Even the cavern walls with had glowed green where now apparently a soft white glow. No one had any explanation for it, just another mystery on top of the missing person’s case.     

 And then there was Lance, Vivi had finally gotten the courage to go talk to him. It had actually gone better then with the Peppers. She knew that Lance was already aware of their investigations, so she had been as honest as she could. The older man had looked exhausted, bags under his eyes, and his whole presence screaming tiered.  That wasn’t surprising with his nephew still in the hospital. And strangely enough, he had believed her when she told him that there was something wrong with her memory. She still couldn’t believe that he had taken her inability to recall anything about Lewis without disbelief. He was probably just happy that she finally explained to him what happened, or explained the best she could sense she still wasn’t quite sure what exactly happened herself.    

At one point, Vivi had tried to give the movie tickets to Andy and Scarlett; she hadn’t wanted to go without Arthur. It wouldn’t have been right. But in the end, the two had persuaded her to go with them. And even if she did feel a little back about seeing it without Arthur, it felt good to go out and just spend time with her other friends. It had been a good night filled with laughter and popcorn.

Vivi was watching TV when she got a call from her sister at the hospital. Vivi thought her heart would explode when Vera told her that Arthur had finally regained consciousness. Filled with an excitement that made her feel like she had just downed a whole pot of coffee, Vivi grabbed her keys and rushed out the door to hurry to the hospital. The drive there and even walking to Arthur’s hospital room had past in a blur. All that mattered was seeing her best friend awake. Walking into the room Vivi saw that Lance was already there, sitting in a chair beside his nephew’s bed. The young man in question was sitting up; left shoulder was completely covered in thick gauze that only wrapped around his chest. He looked unnaturally pale, his normally spiked hair lying flat against his head. Having noticed her entrance, Arthur turn to face her, a big smile on his tiered looking face. “Hey Vi,” Arthur waved at her with his only arm.

The sight of him smiling made her heart ache. Seeing him up and in good spirits eased the fears that had plagued her for the past few weeks. And even though she knew that he still had a ways to go before he was back to where he was before, his smiling face was all that mattered. Then without warning, Lance stood up, the chair he had been sitting on made a screeching noise as it slid backwards. “I’m going to take a walk. You two can catch up.” With that said, the older man walked out, leaving Vivi and Arthur alone in the room. Vivi instantly plopped down in the chair that Lance had just vacated. She could still feel the warmth from his body heat. Scooting closer to her friend’s bed, Vivi grabbed hold his only hand, and held it in her own. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you awake. You were out of it for a while.”

Arthur let out a soft chuckle; then smiled sheepishly. “Yea, Uncle Lance said I was out for a little over two weeks. He even chewed me out for going into the ‘ _obviously dangerous_ ’ cave in the first place. Though to be fare that place had danger written all over it. The entrance even looked like a skull for crying out loud.” Vivi winced when he mentioned Lance. She too had heard Lance’s angrily demand for why she would want to go somewhere like that in the middle the damn night like a ding dong. She couldn’t fault him there; it had been a bad move. They should have waited until morning, but no, she just had to experience things at their most creepy.  And look what it had cost them. Vivi hadn’t realized her mood had darkened until Arthur squeezed her hand back. “It’s ok Vi. I’m going to be ok. It’ll be hard getting used to one arm but I’ll manage.” Vivi felt her eyes water up when he said that. For the past two weeks she had been scared that he would blame her for what had happened to him. Though a part of her knew that was just silly. Arthur had never held a grudge like that.

“I know that saying sorry won’t change anything, but I am. I’m so sorry Arthur. If I hadn’t of made you go, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” There was so much more that she wanted to say, but the words never came. The next thing Vivi knew, Arthur had pulled back his hand and wrapped his single arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close for an awkward one arm hug. His voice stern as he said, “Don’t you do that Vivi, it wasn’t your fault. There was no way any of us could have known there was some kind of wild animal hiding in there. The three of us went in there despite our better judgment,” Arthur looked away, “Even though some of us were more reluctant then others.” Orange eyes met blue, “But the point is whatever happened, I don’t want you blaming yourself for it. I made my own choice to go, that’s on me.” Vivi had to choke back a sob, his words filling her with a relief she hadn’t felt sense the accident. But then that was instantly squashed with his next words.

“Hey Vivi, did Lewis come with you? I’m surprised the two of you didn’t walk in together like you always do.” It had been a simple question, and yet it made Vivi’s heart clench. She knew she had to tell Arthur the truth about her memories. And the last think she wanted was to worry him when he was just woken up. But it only took a single glance into his bright orange eyes and she knew that she couldn’t lie to him. Vivi pulled back from Arthur’s hug, her face downcast. “Arthur, there’s something I need to tell you.” The blonde most have heard the foreboding in her voice, for his smile slipped from his face. “What is it Vivi, did something happen while I was asleep?” Vivi could see that Arthur was becoming concerned for her. She really didn’t want to bother him with this while he was healing, but it was best to say it now instead of later. Vivi knew that if the rolls were revered, she would have wanted the same thing.

Vivi took a deep breath, her heart beating hard in her chest. “The thing is; this is going to be hard for me to say, so please let me finish before you ask questions. I need to get it all out.” Arthur nodded his head, waiting for her to continue. “I…I don’t know where Lewis is? No one has seen him sense the night we went to DeRail Cave.” Arthur’s eyes had turned into causers, practically bulging out of his skull. He stared at her to speechless to question her even if he tried.

“It’s not just that Arthur, I also can’t remember him. No matter how hard I try to think back, I can only ever recall it being just the two of us and Mystery. It’s as though someone has erased him from my mind. And that scares me Arthur, scares me to death to think that someone I should care out is out there somewhere I don’t even know who they are. Not to mention that my eyes seem to glow purple whenever I try to look at a picture of him. It’s like; whoever erased my mind doesn’t want me to be able to recognize him either. I don’t know what to do Arthur…”

Vivi’s voice trailed off there, her voice failing her. She had no idea how Arthur would respond to all that. Would he believe her or would he question her sanity. But either way, his response completely caught her off guard. Instead of bombarding her with countless questions, his orange eyes filled with a determination she had only ever seen on him when he was working on a rather tricky machine. He once more pulled her into a one armed embrace, his arm holding her as tightly as he could. “I might not understand everything you just said, but don’t you worry. We’ll find him, I promise. Once I completely recover, we’re going to find Lewis and bring him home. I’ll do whatever it takes, even if it means having to suck up my fear of the supernatural to do it.”

Vivi wrapped her arms around him carefully, her head now resting on his non bandaged shoulder. “Thank you Arthur, I can always count on you.” The two sat there in a comfortable silence, the two just happy to have the other there next to them. Once Vivi calmed herself down, she asked Arthur if he would tell her about Lewis. Up until know she had avoided the topic, her mind unable process that fact that she had truly forgotten someone. But know she was done being in denial. She needed to face this head on no matter how painful it may be. And in the end, Arthur gladly agreed, the two of them sitting there for the next few hours, Arthur telling her about how kind, loving and just downright amazing Lewis was. From the way Arthur described him, Vivi could tell that he too cared very deeply for their missing friend. It was a step in the right direction.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter just didn't want to end, it went on a lot longer then i had planned. But oh well it covered what I wanted it to. I hoped you like it and thanks to those giving my story a change. Once again I would appreciate comments to let me know what you thing of the story so far, to to let me know if there's anything I can do to improve my writing.   
> Anyway, thanks again for reading, and I hope you have a grate day.


	4. Moving forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur returns home from the hospital and everyone is happy to see him.

Arthur sat relaxed in the passenger seat of his uncle’s pickup truck. He had just been released from the hospital after spending about three months there. It had been a long ordeal with many treatments and long hours of physical therapy. It had only been the constant visits from his three friends, as well as his uncle that Arthur had been able to keep his spirits up. Andy, Scarlett, and Vivi, had been there for him every step of the way. Even though he hadn’t seen much of Andy and Scarlett sense graduation, he still considered them good friends. It had been nice to spend time with them again. Arthur let out a sigh, staring blankly out the window, his mind to far lost in thought to process the scenery flying past him. At least he was finally going home. The thought of sleeping in his own bed put a goofy grin on his face. He has been stuck in that hospital way to long, God he was glad to be heading home. In his lap sat a white paper bag with his prescription pain meds inside. They had stopped at a pharmacy after leaving the hospital to pick them up. The blonde didn’t look forward to taking them, but he knew he needed them. And with Lance watching over him, there was no way he’d be able to forget anyway.  

The radio was currently on a station that played classic rock, old songs that Arthur had grown up listening to with Lance. That shouldn’t be too surprising considering that Lance always had the radio dialed to that same station. Though at the moment, he wasn’t really paying the music much mind, his attention being too lost to thought to focus on the lyrics to songs he had heard countless times over the years. So much had happened in the past few months, it was hard to wrap his mind around all of it. Between the cave incident, his own injury and long hospitalization, plus Lewis’s mysterious disappearance and Vivi’s equally bizarre case of amnesia, Arthur had a lot to think about. It had been so much to take in, but Arthur had managed. Arthur would never forget how pained and heartbroken Vivi had looked when she had sat in beside him in the hospital room. The way her eyes seemed to look away from him in shame as she spoke _._

_I…I don’t know where Lewis is. No one has seen him sense the night we went to DeRail Cave…It’s not just that Arthur, I also can’t remember him. No matter how hard I try to think back, I can only ever recall it being just the two of us and Mystery. It’s as though someone has erased him from my mind. And that scares me Arthur, scares me to death to think that someone I should care out is out there somewhere, and I don’t even know who they are._

The memory still made Arthur’s heart clinch. Just remembering the way her voice had been chocked up as she held back her tears. Arthur had never seen her look that devastated before, even during other cases when things went wrong, she had always been able to keep herself together. But this time had been different, this time the tragedy had hit far too close to home. Even Arthur himself still shuddered when he recalled first waking up, his mind groggy with whatever pain meds the doctors had pumped him full of. Of how he fist realized that his entire left arm was now missing. From what Arthur remembered, Lance was already at the hospital visiting him when he had finally opened his eyes after two weeks. Glancing over at his short, stout uncle, Arthur would never forget the sheer joy he had seen on the other man’s face when he had fully became aware of his surroundings.

 

 

_For a while, sound had seeped into the darkness that blanketed his mind, pulling him to the surface, but not quite letting him brake free. Every time he had tried to move, his body would feel like a statue. It had felt like he was weighed down with stone, nothing would cooperate with him. Then after a while he would slip back down into nothingness until sound would once more pull him to the front of his mind. During that time Arthur thought he could hear voices speaking, though he could never recognize them or what it was that was being said. Once in a while he would hear snippets, ‘…I need you…come back to…wake up…Arthur…’_

_Then finally, one day Arthur finally managed to force open his eyes which had felt like led. His eyes had been met with a blinding light, the soft sound of beeping filling his ears. Arthur had to blink his eyes several times to get them to adjust to the light. It was just when the plain white ceiling was just starting to come into view when he heard what sounded like a door opening, which had been followed by the sound of a gasp as well as something hitting the floor. Someone was suddenly right next to him, their blurry face slowly coming into focus. Arthur instantly recognized the familiar orange hair that was a much darker shade of orange then his own head of spiky strawberry blonde. Which looked more blonde then orange now-a-days. Orange eyes just like his own where now starring down at him, Lance’s face coming into focus. A look of pure relief consumed the older man’s facial features. A ruff, thick hand brushed stay hair out of his face._

_“Oh God, you’re finally awake,” Arthur could hear the joy in his uncles voice. Arthur wasn’t sure what was happening, his mind in was a haze as he tried to remember what happened. Where was he anyway? He didn’t think he was at home, the ceiling was all wrong. Why did Lance sound so excited to see him awake, something wasn’t right. Arthur then tried to sit up, but for some reason his balance was off. And with his head all groggy, he didn’t get very far before Uncle Lance had put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. “Easy there, don’t push yourself. You’re still recovering.” Recovering from what? Arthur was at a loss, he had no clue what his uncle was talking about. After Lance had helped him sit up, Arthur then noticed his chest was wrapped in bandages. He could only stare blankly, he didn’t feel hurt. Though there was a good chance he was simply doped up on some strong pain medicine. That would explain why he didn’t feel all there. It was then that he realized that he was in a hospital room, and the constant peeping in the background was the heart monitor he was hooked up to. How he was starting to get worried._

_Arthur went to rub his face with his left hand, only nothing happened. It was then that a sinking feeling set in the blonde’s gut. He couldn’t feel his left arm. Everything from the shoulder down was numb. That was weird. His arm probably just fell asleep. Lifting his right arm, Arthur reached across his body to rub at the numb appendage, only to feel nothing there. Instead of grabbing hold of his arm, Arthur had instead grabbed his side._

_“Arthur, don’t panic,” Lance’s voice was drowned out by the static that filled his head. Looking to where his arm should be, Arthur only his side. His arm wasn’t there. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest now, the peeping in the background picking up as well. Focusing his gaze on his own shoulder, Arthur then finally saw that his left shoulder was wrapped in thick bandages, everything bellow it gone. He knew his uncle was trying to get his attention, but he paid it no mind. Feeling that padded gauze around his shoulder blade, Arthur couldn’t wrap his mind around what he was seeing. Where the hell was his arm? What happened to him? His breath had caught in his throat, his mind refusing to presses this new information. Arthur could feel himself starting to panic. But before he could go down that road any further, a harsh shake and a yell snapped him out of him._

_“ **Arthur calm down**!”_

_Looking back over at his uncle, Arthur saw the pained expression that consumed his face. “I know it looks bad kid, but it’ll be ok. We’ll get you fixed up in no time.” Arthur didn’t respond, how could he? All he could think about was the empty space where his arm should be. How did he end up like this? What happened anyway? Arthur remembered that for the past few weeks, Lewis, Vivi, and himself had been preparing to explore the creepy cave outside of town. Vivi had wanted to explore it before on several occasions but was always vetoed by both Lewis and himself. At the time, Lewis had agreed with him that it wasn’t a good idea with them so inexperienced. So it wasn’t until several cases later when the group had build up its confidence that Vivi finally convinced Lewis to give DeRail Cave a chance._

_So for two whole weeks they had buckled down and researched the mysterious glowing cave. From missing people reports, to old documents of people’s accounts of haunting and possessions, the whole think had rubbed Arthur the wrong way. But this time without Lewis’s backup, there had been no talking Vivi out of it. She had waited long enough to explore their town’s dark secrets. Once Vivi thought they were ready, they had headed out around sun set. Arthur remembers questioning this decision. It had sounded like a terrible idea; why not wait until morning like a normal person. But of course Vivi reason had been that they would be more likely to run into the alleged ghost at night. Arthur hadn’t questioned her further; he had known that there would be no point. Arthur recalled sitting in the back of the van as they drove out of town. They had parked outside they cave and then…then…Arthur’s memories became fuzzy after that. He knew they had grabbed their equipment then headed into the ridiculously creepy cave entrance, which looked like a freaking skull with fangs for God’s sake. But after that, everything went blank._

_Arthur put his only hand to his temple, rubbing his face. The last thing he could recall was entering that cave with the others. Arthur tried to remember what happened after, but just drew a blank. The fogginess from whatever he was on didn’t help either. He tried to push away the fog clouding his mind, but it just made it worse. Then out of nowhere, he was struck with a sharp pain in his skull. Leaning forward, Arthur hissed at the unpleasant throbbing in his head. “Arthur, what’s wrong?” Lance’s voice was filled with concern, a large hand was now resting on Arthur’s shoulder. The pain was already starting to ease; Arthur rubbed his temples with his one hand. “I’m fine Uncle Lance, just a head ache. Looking back to his bandaged shoulder, the sight making his head spin, Arthur couldn’t figure out how something so horrible could have happened him. He didn’t know what that was, but for him to have lost an entire arm, it had to be bad._

_“Hey Uncle Lance,” Arthur’s voice was weaker then he would have liked, “What happened to me? Why’s my arm…gone?” Lance sighed tiredly, and sat down in the folding chair that was right next to Arthur’s bed. “I was hoping you’d tell me. We don’t really know exactly what happened. All we know is that Vivi found you bleeding out after hearing a deep growl, dragged you out and called 911. If she hadn’t have acted so quickly, you would be here. We think you might have been attached by some sort of wild animal, there were even teeth marks to prove it.” It took a minute for all that to sink in. A wild animal attacked him? Vivi saved him? To be fair, Arthur never actually believed that the cave was haunted, but had been terrified by its sheer creepiness. He had been more frightened of the thought of getting lost in winding tunnels and getting attacked by a bear. Not to mention that green fog didn’t look healthy to walk around in. It would seem that his fears were justified. There had been a wild animal in there. A part of him wanted to be mad at Vivi and Lewis for dragging him to that God awful cave, but that was squished down when he realized something. Vivi had found him bleeding out? Oh god, she must be traumatized. But Lance didn’t say anything about her being hurt, so she should be fine. But then another thought slithered into his head._

_Lance had mentioned Vivi but not Lewis. An uneasy feeling settled into his chest, a shudder crawling up his spine. What if something happened to Lewis? Why didn’t he notice sooner? Lance had said that ‘Vivi’ had found him and called 911’ not ‘Vivi and Lewis’. The blonde’s heart suddenly felt like led, his throat contracting with the fear that was now ceasing hold of him. Looking up at his uncle, Arthur said, “What about Lewis? He’s ok, isn’t he?” An unreadable expression crossed Lance’s face ad he made some sort of half chocked sound. “Look at you worrying about others, right now you should focus on yourself.” That had been a clear dodge; Lance didn’t want to answer that for some reason. But before Arthur could question his uncle any further, a blue head popped into the room. At first Arthur thought it was Vivi, but quickly realized it was her sister Vera. Arthur has known her about as long as he has known Vivi. Arthur even had a bit of a crush on her when he was younger, but that was over now. “Hey Lance, how’s..,” Vera’s voice trailed off when she saw him sitting up. Her blue eyes, which were so much like Vivi’s. “Arthur, you’re awake,” Vera exclaimed with a bright smile on her face. She then folded her arms and gave Lance a pointed look. “How long has he been awake Lance, you did at least let someone knew he was up right?” Lance held her gaze stubbornly for a few seconds before he looked away. The older man rubbed the back of his thick neck, looking a tad embarrassed before he replied._

_“It may have slipped my mind, I was just so happy to see the kid up. You know how it is.” Vera Yukino just smiled, “I see, well I’ll go let the doctors know. Oh, and I’ll call Vivi to let her know your awake. She’ll be so happy. You wouldn’t believe how down she was these past two weeks.” With that, Vera left the room to do just that. Once she was done, Arthur pondered on the fact that she had said ‘the past two weeks’. Had he been out of it that long? Lance seemed to knew what he was going to ask before he could say it, for when Arthur opened his mouth to ask, Lance beat him to it. “Yea you were out of it for almost three weeks. You had me scarred kid.” With his mind derailed from their previous conversation, Arthur forgot that he had been about to question Lance about Lewis. Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, all Arthur could say was, “Sorry Uncle Lance. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Lance huffed, giving the younger man an unimpressed look. “Well you did, I still can’t believe the three of you were stupid enough to go into Derail Cave in the middle of the damn night. Did you kids have a death wish or something? You could have gotten yourselves killed. I was this close to looking you. I’ve never been that scared before.”_

_Arthur couldn’t argue with that, even if it had been Vivi’s idea to go that night, Arthur in the still went. He had caved in and went along with it. If he really hadn’t wanted to go, they couldn’t have forced him. “I’m really sorry, I thought we were prepared.” His uncle shook his head in aspiration. “That’s not the point. I know you and your friends like to investigate scary places, but this was different. That cave was to dangerous, look what happened to you. You kids shouldn’t have gone anywhere near there.” Arthur couldn’t argue with that either. Sighing, Arthur’s eyes lowered to focus on his lap. They really messed up this time didn’t they? Arthur wasn’t sure what he was going to do, how was he going to be of help with just one arm? Everything he did required two fully functioning hands. He’d just be a burden like this. Arthur’s mood was quickly going south, his eyes starting to blur with unshed tears._

_“Hey don’t cry, I’m not blaming you for getting hurt.” Lance most think he’s upset because of what he said. Arthur took a shaky breath, whipping his eyes. “It’s not that, I was just thinking about what I’ll do know. How am I going to help you at the shop, or even be of help to Vivi and Lewis? I can’t do that with one hand.” The next thing Arthur knew, Lance had started rubbing circles into his back, the comforting, helping him calm down. “Don’t sweat it, like I said, we’re going to get you up and running in no time. Until then just worry about getting better, that’s your only job for now.” Arthur nodded his head, “Thanks Uncle.”_

_Not even a minute later, a doctor came in to check on him. He seemed nice, being patient with both Arthur and Lance. The doctor, whose name was Dr. Bheeda, ran several quick tests, checking his vitals and making sure he was ok from being unconscious for so long. Once he was done the doctor left, leaving the two relatives alone. Arthur knew that Vera had said she would call Vivi, and knowing Vivi she would then call Lewis. The two would most likely come together to see him. Even if Lewis was in the middle of work, Arthur knew his parents were awesome people, they would definitely let Lewis leave early to see him. Arthur and Lance then started chatting about a little bit of everything. The mood lifting as Arthur smiled at a bad joke Lance at made. He knew things weren’t going to be easy, but Arthur knew he would get through it. Not long later Vivi poked her head into the room, and at the sight of one of his best friends, Arthur couldn’t help giving her a big smile and wave._

Arthur was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt the truck come to a stop. Looking out the window, Arthur saw that the outside of Kingsmen Mechanics. He most have been zoned out for a while if they were already here.  It wasn’t exactly a quick ride from the hospital to their shop. Actually, the Kingsmen Mechanics was right outside of town along the highway. Lance’s house is around back, connected to the work shop. Arthur currently lives with Lance, he has sense he was seven. Arthur was surprised when he realized that Lance had parked out front instead of driving around back like he always does. He didn’t give it to much thought. Perhaps the guys who worked for Lance wanted to welcome him back. Besides Arthur, there were three other guys who worked at Kingsmen Mechanics under Lance, all of which were good people who Arthur has known for years.

Stepping out of the Truck, Arthur took a deep breath and stretched. It felt good to be back. He’d been cooped up in the hospital way to long. A slam from the other side of the truck made Arthur jump. Lance walked around to where Arthur was and gave him a good pat on the back. “Welcome home kiddo, everyone really missed you.” Arthur smiled at that, it was nice knowing that he had been missed. Looking down the prosthetic he had been given, Arthur couldn’t help but grimace at the sight. It was a useless lump of plastic that barely moved. And to be honest, Arthur hated it. How was he supposed to do anything with this? He could make a better one in his sleep. Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. He had the tools needed; all he needed was a little help. His mind was already swirling with everything he would need to bring such a thing to life. First he would need to blueprint it then work out how he would go about starting. He was almost lost in thought when Lance got his attention, “You coming or what?” The blonde shook his head, and with his prescription in hand, Arthur fallowed Lance through the work shop.

The first think Arthur noticed was that the shop was closed, no one in sight. He frowned in thought, there was no sight of Lance’s three other employees. Why else would they come this way unless it was to say hi to everyone, strange. As they passed through, Arthur saw that nothing much had changed in the past three months. It was about the same, with a few additional projects here and there. The place definitely felt like home. Having been running around the Kingsmen Mechanics for most of his life, Arthur knew the place by heart. Every nook and cranny, every hidden place, Arthur as explored over the years. Lance opened the back door that leads into the back of the kitchen. The back of the kitchen was separated from the rest of the kitchen by a wall and served as the pantry. A large freezer sat in a corner of the back room while the walls were covered with shelves packed with canned and boxed food. Arthur couldn’t help but notice that it was dark inside. Even though it was afternoon, the blinds were drawn, blocking out the light from outside. The blonde couldn’t help finding this odd; Lance only ever closed the window blinds before he went to bed. Once at the archway that separated the kitchen/dining room area from the living room, Lance stopped suddenly. Arthur was about to ask him what was wrong when the older man flipped on the light switch to the living room. A blinding light filled the room, catching Arthur off guard. And then…

“SURPRISE!!”

 About a dozen people popped out of hiding. To say Arthur was surprise would to the understatement of the year. He was shocked speechless at what he saw. A large banner hung from the ceiling, which read ‘Welcome Home Artie.’  Arthur couldn’t believe what he was seeing; they threw a surprise party for him? Arthur recognized all of the people now standing in the living room. He saw Vivi and her sister, Lance’s employees, Andy and Scarlett. Arthur could help but blink in surprise when he was a trio of familiar little faces running at him. “Artie,” Came the cry of three little girls as they rushed over to him. The three sisters threw their arms around him as they tackled him into a hug. This almost cost Arthur to lose his balance, but Lance was right there at his side to steady him. Arthur hadn’t expected Lewis’s little sisters to be here. Belle, Cayenne, and Paprika looked up at him with grinning faces. The last time Arthur had seen them was when their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Pepper had brought then to see him in the hospital.

Lewis’s parents had visited him a few days after he had regained consciousness. The girls had waited out in the hallway has their parents asked Arthur about Lewis. They had wanted to ask him if he remembered what happened the night Lewis disappeared. By that point, Vivi had already told him how the two had asked her what had happened, and how she hadn’t been able to give them an answer. Arthur hadn’t been able to say much earthier, but luckily the two had understood. It would seem that suffering extreme trauma and almost dyeing from blood loss gives you an excellent reason for having memory loss. That and Arthur had been able to confirm that Lewis had been there in the cave with them that night. They hadn’t pushed him, which Arthur had been happy about, thought he could tell that Mrs. Pepper hadn’t been too happy with his response. But she seemed to understand that frustration wouldn’t jog his memories.

The Peppers were like a second family for Arthur. He had met Lewis on the first day of school when he had first started school there in Willow Creek.  That had been just a few months after meeting Vivi at the park, and like with Vivi, the two had become instant friends. Arthur even introduced each other later that day when school was over. Over the years, as Arthur visited the Peppers, they had grown on them, and he on them. After all that time, it wouldn’t be surprising if they thought of him as a second son. Which is why Arthur wasn’t too surprised when they had wrapped in a warm embrace. At that point, the girls and come into the room and handed Arthur a large get well card they had made together. It had been precious, covered in child drawling and writing that simply said, ‘we hope you feel better soon, Love, Belle, Cayenne, and Paprika. The girls had written their own names, each one showing their current skill in penmanship. It wasn’t the best writing, but he had never seen anything more beautiful. They each then gave him a hug, after their mom had warned them to be gentle, sense he was still hurt. Though, Arthur didn’t have to worry about Paprika. She was so little, that he doubted she could have been ruff anyway. It had been a good day.

With his only hand, Arthur patted each of their heads. Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur saw Mr. and Mrs. Pepper standing by a window, Mr. Pepper holding a camera as he took pictures. He was surprised to see them, though considering that this was a surprise party, was also surprised to see everyone else to. But considering that the Peppers had a restaurant to run, it was a genuine surprise that they could make it. Though Arthur would complain, it was nice having everyone he cared about all together to welcome him home. Arthur talked to the three for a few more minutes before they ran off to do something else. Once they were gone, a blue blur ran towards him and tackled him into a hug. Vivi held him tight, smiling into his puffy orange vest. “I’m so happy your home Artie.” A wide dopey grin had spread across Arthur’s face. He might not be a big fan on surprises, but this was the kind that he enjoyed. No words could describe how elated he felt in that moment. Arthur returned Vivi’s bear hug, patting her on the back. “I’m happy to be back, Vi. You have no idea how boring it was being stuck in that stuffy hospital room for so long. But at least I had company.” Vivi had visited him every day while in the hospital, even when she couldn’t stay long, she always made an effort to see him. Her visits had always put a smile on his face. Andy and Scarlett, who were standing behind the couch with Vivi’s big sister, had also visited him frequently. Even though they weren’t able to come visit as often as Vivi, the two still took the time to spend time with him. Arthur appreciated every second of it. Not far from the couch stood Mike, Robert, and John; Lance’s three loyal employees.

“Welcome back Artie, we missed ya.” Robert, an older man around Lance’s age said as he walked over to pat Arthur on the shoulder. The man was about the same height as Arthur, just being a few inches taller. From what Arthur remembered, Robert has worked for Kingsmen Mechanics for many years. He was the only one out of the three that was working there even before Arthur came to live with his uncle. Arthur gave the older man an appreciated smile, “Good to be back.” Arthur Laughed sheepishly, slightly embarrassed by all the attention he was getting. At that point everyone had gathered around him, giving him countless hugs, as well as back pats and head rubs. At one point, Andy had thrown an arm over Arthur’s shoulder as he handed him an ice cold cola. “It’s good to see you out of that Hospital. Man you had me worried.” Arthur couldn’t help rolling his eyes. The only time Andy ever showed any kind of worry or concern was when it involved one of his close friends. Vivi had told him how both he and Scarlett had been present when her eyes glowed up for the second time, the first being with her sister Vera.

Scarlett made her way over to his other side, her bouncy red curls almost pushing into his face as she hugged him from the other side. “I’m glad your home to, we really missed you.” Sandwiched between the two, Arthur could only smile as he put his right arm around Andy’s shoulder. He then did the same thing with Scarlett, putting his prosthetic around her shoulder, holding his two friends close as they held each other.  It was once everyone had finished welcoming him home that Arthur saw the white plastic table pushed against the back wall covered with food. He had a feeling the Peppers might have had a hand in that. Throughout the whole thing Lance had stood a few feet away, watching everyone dot on his nephew. After everyone seemed to have settled down, Lance got everyone’s attention. “Now that everyone’s settled down, how about we eat. I’m starved.” At the sound of food, Arthur felt his stomach rumble. The last think he ate was a small breakfast that had been brought to his hospital room not long before Lance arrived to get him. It had been terrible of course, when isn’t hospital food terrible.

Mr. and Mrs. Pepper then walked over to the table and started taking the lids of the dishes that was sprawled out like a buffet. Mr. Pepper opened up the boxes of plastic utensils and sat out a stack of paper plates. While he did this, Mrs. Pepper placed spoons and forks in their respective dishes so everyone could scoop the food out. While this was happening, Arthur suddenly realized that he hadn’t seen Mystery. Vivi never visited without him, so not seeing him was strange. Looking around, Arthur finally noticed Mystery lying on the couch, his ears dropping as he looked away from him. From what Arthur could tell, he looked sad. Why would he look sad? It was strange that Mystery hadn’t already jumped on top of him, or wasn’t running in circles around his legs excitedly. Seeing Mystery like that felt wrong. Walking over to the couch, flopped down beside the small canine, and with his real arm, scooped him up and into his lap.

Mystery let out a startled yelp as he did this, clearly having been caught off guard. Arthur couldn’t help but laugh at the face Mystery made as he found himself perched on top of bright yellow pants. The dog looked up at him surprised, his red eyes blinking as he gave him an unreadable look. Arthur then scratched him behind the ears. “Did you miss me boy, this that why you’re sad? Don’t you worry; I’m back now. And soon enough, we’ll be playing fetch again in no time.” Mystery seemed to brighten at that, his ears shooting up as his stumpy tail started wagging happily.  Mystery then fixed himself so that he was now sitting upright on top of Arthur, then jumped up where his front paws were on his chest and starting licking his face. Arthur laughed at the dog’s enthusiasm, pushing him back down, only to fail do to Mystery’s sheer enthusiasm. He was not backing down; it seemed that Mystery was determined to give him all the licks he had missed while in the hospital. “Not the face Mystery, not the face.” Arthur laughed at the small dog’s antics. A chuckle beside Arthur caught his attention. Looking over, Arthur saw Vivi standing beside the cough. “Looks like someone is in a better mood,” Vivi had said to her dog, giving him a head scratch. Mystery leaned into her small hand, his paws still resting on Arthur’s shirt. “You should have seen him while you were gone. Poor Mystery was all sad and mopey, and looked like he lost his best friend.”

Vivi then blinked realizing what she just said, then sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. “Well I guess we did loss a friend didn’t we?” Arthur’s smile dropped as he continued to pet Mystery. “Yea we did,” He still couldn’t believe Lewis was missing. His absence had been noticed right away. It had been weird seeing Vivi visit him without the big lovable giant right beside her. Even now it was strange seeing everyone together without him right in the middle helping get the food ready. He wished he could remember what happened, at least then they would have a lead to fallow. The only clue they had was the cave he was last seen in. Considering that DeRail cave was roped off for investigational purposes, no one was aloud around the area. Arthur remembered when a detective had asked him about the night of his accident. He wasn’t able to say anything that they didn’t already know. From what he heard, Lewis’s cell phone had been found at the bottom of the cavern, near some stalagmites. Something had happened to him there, Arthur was sure of it. Hopefully the cave won’t be taped off anymore by time Arthur was back on his feet. Though the idea of returning to that nightmarish place make his stomach flip, he knew that finding Lewis was more important this his own discomfort. If it would help bring his friend home faster, then he would gladly push down his own fear to do it. He would never abandon his friends, no matter how scared he was.

Arthur hadn’t realized he had stopped patting Mystery’s head until he felt him head-butt his hand as if saying, ‘I didn’t say you could stop petting me.’ Both Vivi and Arthur laughed at that. Silly Mystery being his spoiled self, always needing his attention. “Ok everyone, time to eat,” Mrs. Pepper called out, getting everyone’s attention. Mystery’s ears perked up as he looked over to the table were the food was. He then hopped down, allowing Arthur to get up as well. Even after months of physical therapy, he still found himself off balance at times, the plastic prosthetic doing little to balance out his weight on his left side. Arthur staggered a little when first getting up, but Vivi quickly helped balance himself before he fell back down onto the couch. Giving Vivi a quick thanks, Arthur walked over to the table where everyone was already getting into a line. He saw Mr. Pepper fixing a plate for Paprika, the youngest of the Pepper sisters. She stood by her dad’s leg, looking up at him as he put a small amount of food on a pink paper plate. The other two girls where fixing their own plates, they were big enough to do it themselves.

It was when Arthur grabbed an orange paper plate from the stack of different colored plates that he realized he had a problem. There was no way he was going to be able to pick up a spoon with this thing. He could get the fingers to open and close, but he still wasn’t use to it. And considering that the arm he had lost was actually his dominant one; this wasn’t going to be easy. Holding the plate secure in his real hand, Arthur carefully used his prosthetic to pick up a spoon to scoop out food in front of him. It all looked delicious, which wasn’t surprising with the Peppers involved. Some of the dishes he recognized from the Pepper Paradiso menu. It had been more difficult then he would have liked, but he managed. He had just put the spoon back when someone beside him said, “Would you like some help?” Arthur instantly recognized the voice of Vera. Glancing over, Arthur saw that she was standing beside him with a paper plate in hand, hers being blue of course. While Arthur appreciated the offer, he turned her down. “No that’s ok, I can do it myself.” It would be embarrassing if he couldn’t even fix himself his own food. Vera nodded, not pushing the matter.  She has always been kind to Arthur, even back when he and Vivi were little and Vera would watch them when he would come over and play when her parents weren’t there. By this point she was practically a big sister to him to. Arthur noticed that she wasn’t in her usual scrubs. Today she had on a white button down shirt with a blue jacket over it and a pair of dark blue jeans. He doesn’t know what it was with Vivi and her Sister, but they both seemed to love blue. It made it easy to mistake one for the other despite Vera having long hair compared to her sister’s shorter length.

With a plate full, Arthur sat back down on the couch, Vivi flopping down beside him. Mystery flopped down at Vivi’s feet, waiting patiently for any scraps she might give him. He was a well trained dog, which was something that couldn’t be denied. He understood everything you said to him, fallowed every command Vivi gave him as though he understood English perfectly. The only exception being when Vivi would have to shoo him away when he would but his face to close to her food. Then he suddenly turned deaf and no longer seemed to know what words meant. But that only ever happened once in a while. Most of the time it was like talking to human, he was just that smart. Arthur and Vivi chatted together on the couch as they ate. Everyone was scattered across the living room and kitchen, the sound of multiple conversations merging together into pleasant background noise.

Arthur was definitely enjoying himself as time passed. It was some time after eating that Arthur felt a small hand pull on his pants. Vivi had already gotten up and was chatting with her sister, leaving Arthur along on the couch. Well, not completely alone, Mystery was now lying down in front of the couch across his feet. The small dog seemed to refuse to leave his side. He must have really missed him. Still sitting where he was before, Arthur looked down and saw little Paprika looking up at him with her light pink eyes. “Hey Artie,” came the small voice of the little five year old. “Can I sit next to you?” There was no way Arthur could say no to that face. He patted the cushion next to him, “Of course you can.” Paprika’s eyes lit up as she climbed up to set next to him. If there was anything Arthur was certain about, it was that Paprika was the cutest think he had ever seen. From her pink and white hair style, to her little white eyebrows that contrast with her dark skin, to the adorable yellow dress she wore over a long sleeved turtleneck. She was just so precious; Arthur could see how Lewis would have done anything for her and his other two sisters.

Paprika swung her little legs back and forth as she continued to look up at him. “Artie, when’s Bubba coming home?” It had been a simple question, but it made Arthur’s chest squeeze. How was he supposed to answer that when he didn’t even know where he was? He didn’t even know if Lewis was alive or not. NO, Arthur couldn’t think like that. Of course Lewis was alive, just missing. Once they found him, both he and Vivi would bring him home to his family and things would go back to normal. He had to believe that. Paprika continued to look at him with eyes full of innocent hope. Arthur felt his mouth go dry as he tried to think of what to say. Luckily he was spared from having to answer when Mr. Pepper walked over to them. “Hey Arthur, I’m just letting you know were about to go. Can’t leave the restaurant closed for too long.” Mr. Pepper said with a smile on his face. Over the years, Arthur has grown to see him as a second father figure, the first being Lace of course. The man had the same pink and white hair as his youngest daughter, even the same white eye brows and light pink eyes. The only difference being Mr. Pepper’s pale complexion compared to Paprika’s darker one.

He was such a sweet man, always happy, friendly, and smiling. Lewis’s dad always seemed to have this positive energy around him, always in a good mood. Unlike his wife, Mr. Pepper was an easy person to read; he wore his heart on his sleeve and was just an open person anyone could talk to. Mr. Pepper on the other hand was closed off and had this intimidating aura about her that seemed to repel people. It might be due to her always serous facial expressions, or that she rarely smiles. She had this professional confidence around her that gave of the feeling that she wouldn’t put up with any nonsense. But despite their differences they seemed to balance each other out. It was like their restaurant, a perfect balance of sweet and spicy.

Mr. Pepper picked up Paprika from the couch, holding her little body in her arms. Even though Paprika was five, she was about the size of a three or four year old. The youngest Pepper has always been small for her age. “Tell Arthur bye sweetie, we’re about to go.” Paprika’s puffed out as she went, “Awww, do we have to?” Mr. Pepper nodded his head, “Yes sweetie, Mommy and I need to get back to the restaurant.” Paprika nodded her tiny head back, her eyes moving back to Arthur as she told him bye-bye. Mr. Pepper then turned back to Arthur once more as he said, “Don’t be a stranger now, you and the others are always welcome at the restaurant.” Arthur nodded, “Of course, I’ll stop by every now and again.” Arthur was happy that Lewis’s parents didn’t blame him and Vivi for their son’s disappearance. They had been more understanding then he had given them credit for. Perhaps it was so that they could stay strong and keep their spirits high for their girls. Regardless it was nice to see them. Arthur would definitely stop by the restaurant when he got a chance. In a way, Paprika, Cayenne, and Belle were like the little sisters he never had. He had watched them grow up from babies to children. Belle had actually been born a year after Arthur and Lewis had become friends, and Cayenne a year after. They were now eleven and ten, full of energy and childhood excitement. Even if the older two sisters liked pranking him, Arthur loved them anyway. He    then watched Mr. and Mrs. Pepper tell everyone by before herding the older two Pepper sisters out the door.

Once they were done, Andy flopped on the couch next to Arthur, his green hair sticking up at odd angles as he took a swig of a coke from the cooler under the table. “So Arthur, what do you plan to do now?” Arthur blinked at Andy; he hadn’t expected that from him. Arthur already knew what he was going to do; he has been sitting on it for the past three months while he was stuck in the hospital. “Well first off, I’m going to build myself a better arm, one that actually words like a real limp. Then once I’m better, Vivi and I are going to find Lewis.” As he spoke, Arthur sounded more confident then he felt. It was something he had to do, Lewis deserved it. Andy’s face turned thoughtful as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. “You know Arthur, I’ve always wondered, why did you agree to join Vivi’s crazy paranormal team. We all know that stuff scares you. Why push yourself like that?” If Arthur was surprised before he was stunned now. He never though Andy cared enough to worry about his well being like that. He knows their friends, but he had always had this air of disinterest about him that always made it seem like he was always bored with everything.

But it was a descent question, why join a paranormal team when he was scared of the supernatural. Well for one, they had never actually run into anything genially supernatural before, unless one counted the cave. But sense neither he nor Vivi could recall what had happened; there was no way to say for certain. Another being that, he just wanted to spend time with his friends. Even if the dog got shot gun over him for some reason, it was still fun to just ride around with Vivi and Lewis. It’s not like hunting ghosts was the only thing they did. There was times when they would see a tourist spot and stop to check it out. Those were the best parts, just spending time together without dealing with anything crazy. Arthur was so lost in thought that he forgot to answer Andy. The green haired boy waved a hand in his face to get his attention. Arthur blinked then laughed sheepishly, “Sorry about that. To answer your question, it’s because Vivi’s my friend and I love spending time with her and Lewis. Even if they drag me into situations I’m not always comfortable with, I’m ok with that. I did it because I love seeing them happy. You know you and Scarlett are always welcome to tag along if you want. Vivi was disappointed when the two of you turned her down.

Andy looked away, “You know that it wasn’t a good time for me back then.” Arthur nodded, not pushing it. He knew he had been going through family stuff at the time. Then idea came to him, “But there’s nothing stopping you know you know. Vivi and I would appreciate the extra help to find Lewis.” A faint smile crossed Andy’s face, “I’ll think about it. You should ask Scarlett to while you’re at it. Considering what happened, she might consider it.” That wasn’t a bad idea; he’ll do that when he gets a chance. The two then just chatted back and forth for a while, talking about everything that came to mind. Not too long later Scarlett walked over to join their conversation. While she was there, Arthur went ahead and asked her as well. The dark skinned red head gave him a sincere look. “Of course Arthur, I would love to help you find Lewis. He was my friend to after all.” Arthur then noticed that Mystery, who hadn’t left his spot on top of Arthur’s shoes, was now looking up, his ears perked as he listened to them, his stumpy tail wagging. It was as if he understood exactly what they were talking about, he was a smart dog after all. The party didn’t last for too much longer before everyone left. Mike put him into a quick head lock as he was leaving, “See you later kid.” The other two, Mike and John on the other hand gave him a warm shoulder pat as they said bye. Vivi and Vera hugged him bye as they soon left as well, Arthur giving Mystery one last head scratch as the canine fallowed the two sisters out the door. Andy and Scarlett followed suit, Scarlett being Andy’s ride of course.

Soon it was just Arthur and Lance, the two cleaning up after everyone left. It didn’t take long, everyone had thrown their trash away so all they had to do was tie up the garbage bags and take them out. Arthur was smiling the whole time; he had a great first day back from the hospital. He never would have expected everyone to throw him a surprise party. While unexpected, it was truly appraised. The thought warmed his hart as he folded up the plastic table to put away. It was when they were finished that Lance gave Arthur a big grin. “I’ve got another surprise for you.” The older man grabbed his keys from the hook by the door and gestured for Arthur to fallow. He tried to ask where they were going as Lance led him back out to the truck. Lance waved him off, telling him he had to wait and see. Once in the truck, Lance drove them back to town where they stopped at the pet shop. Pulling into the parking lot, Lance parked not fare from the door. Arthur could only stare surprised; he hadn’t expected this at all. The slam of the truck door pulled Arthur out of his shock. The blonde quickly got out and fallowed his uncle into the shop.

Walking up to the customer service counter, Arthur watched as his uncle spoke with the lady standing behind said counter. The woman saw Arthur being his uncle and gave them a big smile. “I see you’re here to pick up that special gift Mr. Kingsmen.” Lance smiled back, “That’s right; I know my boy here will love him.” Lance patted him on the back as he said that. The woman, whose name tag read ‘Jennifer’, laughed as she walked into a room behind the counter. A moment she walked back out with a small hamster cage. When the lady sat the plastic cage down, Arthur saw a small adorable baby hamster lying inside. It appeared to be asleep, it’s eyes closed as it rested in the wood shavings. Arthur then noticed its back legs, they didn’t look right. Giving the adorable hamster a conserved look, Arthur looked up and said, “Is there something wrong with him?” The employee sighed, “The poor thing was born with his back legs paralyzed. If you still want him you’ll have to give him extra care. He can’t feed or exorcise by himself with those legs after all.”

Arthur hummed in thought, his mind already thinking up ideas of how he could help that precious baby. Perhaps a set of little wheels for him to roll around on; that was good idea. That pore thing needed all the love he could get, and Arthur was the one to do it. Smiling, Arthur picked up the cage, “Of course I want him. I’ve already got something in mind help.” Lance laughed at that, “Told you he’d love it.” The woman put her hand up to her mouth and laughed as well. “I’m just happy he’s getting a good home.” She then gave him a grateful smile. “I was worried no one would wont him, I’m glad that didn’t happen.” Arthur hugged the cage close to his chest, “Well you don’t have to worry anymore; this little guy is come home with me.” Holding up the cage, Arthur looked inside at the hamster. “I’ll name you Galahad.” The small orange hamster lifted his head and blinked at him. “See, he likes it already.” Lance patted his shoulder, “Come on lets grab everything you’ll need to care for the little guy and head home.” Arthur then held the newly named Galahad’s cage while Lance grabbed all the hamster supplies they would need. After Lance paid for everything, the two got back into the truck and headed home, a new family member tow.

 

 

The demon slowly regained awareness, its consciousness flickering in and out as it tried to reawaken. It didn’t know how much time had passed sense loosing awareness. The first think it noticed was the confined space it was suddenly trapped in. It felt strange and wrong in a way that it couldn’t describe. The second thing the demon became aware of was that it could no longer feel the inside of the entire cave. It didn’t like that. For as long as it could recall, the demon had its presence stretched across every inch of the cavern in the form of the green mist and fog and continuously seeped from his very being. Something had happened, but it couldn’t recall what that was. The demon struggled against the confining space, doing its best to spread itself back out across its territory. But the moment it tried, it was stopped by barrier. Before, the demon was shapeless and could see everything its energy touched. But now, it found itself only able to see out of a single eye; wait, eye? The demon then realized what was wrong. It was trapped in a body, except not a complete body. It squirmed around in an attempt to move but failed to figure out how. From the feel of the limb the demon could tell that it was an arm it was now possessing, a severed arm to be more precise. And in the palm of the hand attached to the arm was the eye it was seeing out of.

It took a few minutes, but the demon finally managed to prop itself onto its elbow. Looking down at itself, it saw they the arm’s green skin was covered in dark splatters of old dry blood. It could tell the blood was old due to the way the reddish brown splatters flaked of like rust. The demon blinked its one eye in bewilderment. How long had it been lying here, and what happened to cause such a bizarre situation. Possessing a human was one thing, but to be in a severed limb was just; it just felt weird. Looking down, the demon caught sight of a large black wrist band wrapped around its wrist. It looked familiar for some reason. It then racked its mind trying to remember what had happened to land it in this situation. Then it came to it, the demon remembered the trio of foolish humans who had dared to enter its cave. It had wanted to play with them like it had done so many others. But one of them had caught its attention, and not in a good way. A young man dresses in yellow and orange had reminded the demon of someone from his life as a human, someone it had hated with a hatred so thick it could burn down the world. The demon shuttered when it recalled what it had planned to do, how it would have tortured and tormented the man from the inside out until he broke. That’s what he gets for looking like that…woman? The demon’s memories from its life were fussy. It had spent so much time in the flowing form of fog that it didn’t even remember what it had looked like before much less much of anything else.

There had been a woman, the demon was sure of it. Her name escaped it, it most likely hadn’t been too important at the time to remember. But it did remember long strawberry blonde curls, a beautiful orange and yellow dress that had reminded it of a sunflower. Then there was the man, the thought sent waves and waves of seething rage through it. Weather he had been the woman’s fiancé or husband was something the demon could no longer recall. But it did remember being chased into this very cave all those years ago. Being held at gun point at the top of the cliff above before being shot off where it had fallen to its death. The memory still sent blinding hatred coursing through its very spirit.

Being in this arm was disorienting, the feel of flesh only being kept alive with its presence disturbing in many ways. The demon once again tried to leave the arm but was pushed back. It was like the barrier that has help him prisoner in this damn cave. It must have been that beast that did it, the one that viciously tore him away from the man in orange. From what the demon had saw, the beast had resembled that small dog that was with the trio of humans, though it hadn’t paid the mutt much attention to really saw for curtain of the two looked alike or not. But anyway, its fur had been white with black spots, glowing red eyes filled with a hatred that matched its own; a pair of yellow glasses resting on its snout, which was bizarre in its own right. The beat had resembled either a giant wolf or fox, several tails fanning out behind it. The demon had no idea what it had been, but it had managed to but the demon in its place. Even without a mouth, the demon growled at the thought. How dare the beast do this? It wouldn’t forget or forgive this.

The demon was pulled out of its raging thoughts when it felt a soft pulsing inside itself. Closing its black and green eye, the demon focused on the pulsing that seemed to come from within. If the demon recalled right, it almost felt like a heartbeat, though it didn’t really remember what that felt like. It just seemed the right way to explain it. Peering deep within, the demon saw a torn fragment. It looked as though it had been ripped away from something, but what that was the demon wasn’t quite sure of at the moment. The torn away fragment glowed with an orange light, pulsing weekly to a rhythm the demon didn’t recognize. Drawing closer, it noticed a faint orange energy bleeding out of the fragment like an open wound. It was easy to absorb the energy the fragment released. The feel of it as it coursed through the demon was exhilarating, rejuvenating it in a way the demon hadn’t expected. If the demon was to be honest, it was intoxicating. It needed more, more of this aura that seeped from the torn fragment. It was when it had the pulsing orange fragment within reach that the demon remembered where it came from. What it now had was a piece of that young man’s soul. The demon remembered now, when that beast had ripped him away with brute force, it had clung to the human’s soul in a desperate attempt to stop its forceful removal. It hadn’t words of course, but he had managed to tear away a piece of his soul in the presses. At least it had something for the effort.

As the demon absorbed more and more of the soul fragment’s aura, it felt itself spreading out from the arm. Its own sickly green aura leaking out from its prison, taking shape as it grew. With the fragment now nested deep within the demon’s core, it found itself no longer a severed limb. A pair of glowing green eyes opened; its glow a contrast with the black of its sclera. The demon blinked several times as it looked down at its new semi- translucent body. The upper half of its new body was mostly solid, though a bit see through. The only exception being the arm that the demon was still anchored to, that part was completely solid. Since it was in fact flesh and blood, that shouldn’t have been too surprising. Looking further down the demon saw that its body became more see through as its body extended downward. Where there should be legs there was just a tail that slowly faded out of existence at the tip. It was a strange sight to see. Its body starting out mostly solid, only to become more translucent going down until it faded away into complete transparency.

The demon then laughed in a way that would make anything run for the hills at the sound of it. It had never felt anything like this before. After spending so much time as a formless clump of mist, having an actual form was exhilarating. It felt as though anything was possible. Perhaps it could even get its revenge at last. The demon knew that the ones he hated was long sense dead, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t destroy their descendants. There was a change that orange clad man from before could be one, but there was no way to know for curtain. Oh well, it could always find out. Flying out of the lower part of the cavern, the demon flew up and down the glowing white tunnels. It was strange seeing it without its aura tainting it. If the demon remembered correctly, the cavern tunnels had once been white before it had taken over. The demon came to a stop at the mouth of the cave where it knew the dreaded barrier laid. The damn thing had kept it here for so long, would today finally be the day it got its freedom. The demon reached out with its stolen arm, and hand touching the barrier and slipping through. A ripple affect then spread across the invisible barrier like water. Then shattered like glass, it’s now transparent pieces dissolving into the air as it vanished all together.

The demon couldn’t believe what it was seeing, it was actually free. A twisted grin took shape on its face as it finally floated out of the cursed place. It was nighttime, a gust of wind bringing the chill of winter as the demon floated outside of its prison. No longer would it be trapped, no longer would it have to seething in its rage with no way to let it out. The demon was finally free, to do whatever it pleased. The world was its oyster now, and nothing would get in its way. It then flew away into the night, the light from the moon and stars lighting its way. As it flew further away it thought, ‘I might try to track down the young man one day, if just a small fragment of his soul felt this good, I might just take some more.’ It didn’t intend to do that now though, it had other things in mind at the moment. The demon to enjoy itself and that was what it was going to do.

 

It wasn’t too long later that deep within the cavern, down by the base of the stalagmites, a pair of purple and black eyes slowly opened.              

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out, I meant to have this up weeks ago but I kept getting distracted with everything. It was more procrastinating then anything, but here it is chapter 4, I hoped you liked it. And like before if you enjoyed reading it, please leave a moment to let know what you thought and how I can improve for later chapters.


End file.
